Stay by Me
by Psycho Dreamer
Summary: It is a almost 2 years after the performance of the Angels Manuever and the cast is reopening Swan Lake, but what happens when something goes wrong leaving the star unable to perform?  crap summary please review
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Sora, its almost time!" Mia called into the dressing room.

"I'm coming!" The young Kaleido star called back. Sora Naegino needed to be on stage.

She loved the stage more than anything, the stage was her life. Hearing the audience cheer, their joy bringing her the most happiness. The audience was the life, the very spirit of the stage, speaking of spirits, _Where's Fool?_ The spirit of the stage was nowhere in sight, _he's probably trying to sneak a peak into the other dressing rooms._ Sora thought.

A smile spread on her face as she saw the lights of the stage and she ran forward.

* * *

"Well done, Sora!" The crew called off stage after yet another successful performance. She smiled and thanked everybody for their hard work, her partner already out of sight.

"H-Here, Sora," Said Billy, blushing profusely as he handed her a towel. Billy was the newest worker at the stage. He seemed shy but very sweet. He probably had the bluest eyes Sora had ever seen, which complemented his blond hair and basketball player's frame.

"Thank you!" Sora smiled and continued to her dressing room, noticing some flowers on her vanity. They were roses, almost a purple color like her hair. There was no card to indicate who they were from, she could only wonder. She began to undress.

"Well done today," said a smooth voice.

"Fool!" She shrieked, throwing a makeup brush at the spirit, knocking him off of his perch.

"Why so violent?" He rubbed his head. "I only came to see if you needed help with your zipper." He added seemingly innocent.

"Nice try, but no." she retorted, "get out."

"Nice flowers, who are they from?" He continued.

"I don't know, now please let me change in peace." She said exasperated. The spirit finally listened and disappeared, but peace wasn't very close.

"LET'S GO NAEGINO!" Yelled May as she burst into the room, already changed out of her Odile costume.

"May! What's going on?"

The Chinese acrobat had a knowing grin plastered across her face, her eyes showed an excited spark. Her expression said, "You'll see…"

* * *

"Congratulations on another successful show!" Toasted Kalos. The owner of the stage was in an unusually good mood, he kept glancing over to his girlfriend Sarah. The diva just smiled in return.

"Congratulations!" called the rest of the cast. They had all decided to rent the yacht in celebration of the reopening of "Swan Lake." The young star, however, was lost in thought.

It was a beautiful clear night, with only a few clouds. The moon was full, casting its light on the water, creating a beautiful sight. Sora had barely noticed, all could think of was the roses she had earlier received. _Who could have sent them?_ She wondered, and could think of no one, they hadn't even left a card. She turned to join the others, only to see her partner walking towards her, though walking would be an insult.

Leon Oswald was the man who made the most graceful ballerinas envious, every fiber of his being pretty much screamed "Nobility" right in your face. The gentle breeze tugged playfully at his long silver locks, which softly reflected the moon's light. His sharp violet eyes locked onto hers.

Sora couldn't help but blush a little. She had to turn away to avoid drooling. Who wouldn't, especially if they were being stared at by a guy that made Adonis look like Donald Trump. The wind picked up a little. The boat rocked gently.

"A beautiful night isn't it?" She offered, hoping to break the silence.

"I suppose," He replied, looking out onto the water. Two words was probably the longest answer she'd get. Leon hadn't gotten the nickname "the Grim Reaper" for no reason. He was cold to most people and spoke very little, though he had softened some since he and Sora began Starring in "Swan Lake." He still rarely showed emotion, but Sora could tell he enjoyed being on the stage, no matter how he led on. He still barely opened up to her, even after being partners for almost two years.

They lapsed back into silence, Sora uncomfortable, Leon forever wearing his poker face. She shivered. "You are cold." Stated Leon, breaking the silence.

"Oh! I'm fine!" Stammered Sora, she had worn a long sleeved shirt that night but the wind had grown cold. She shivered again.

"You should go inside." The Frenchman said, more of an order than a request.

"I'm fine." Sora replied.

"No." He stated firmly. "You will catch a cold."

"SORA!" shrieked May, running out onto the deck. She was excited to the point of bordering hysteria.

"May-san?" she jumped, standing straight as a board. "What is it?"

"Kalos just asked Sarah to marry him!" She screamed.

"What?" Sora couldn't even imagine Kalos asking for a pen, let alone getting down on one knee and proposing!

May ran back inside and Sora glanced back at Leon who almost looked surprised. "I guess we should go congratulate them." She said as she turned her back to him and headed towards the door. One of the corners of his mouth twitched as he fought the triumphant grin threatening to place itself on his face. He won the argument, even if it was indirectly.

Suddenly, the boat rocked violently and Sora saw the deck quickly rising to meet her. She closed her eyes and waited for the impact. A set of strong arms wrapped tightly around her, stopping her fall. She looked up to see that her face was only inches away from Leon's. He was close enough for her to feel his warm breath on her face. He had caught her. Her cheeks begin to turn a bright crimson as she noticed they're position; his face was still the stone mask it usually was. She could see the blue specks in his eyes. His warmth stopped her shivers.

"Are you alright?" He asked hoarsely.

" I-I-I'm fine!" She stuttered, releasing herself from his arms and quickly walking inside, trying to hide her crimson cheeks.

He stared after her, unaware of the eyes watching him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The cast was preparing for the new production of "Beauty and the Beast." "Swan Lake" was only supposed to be played for a limited number of performances in celebration of their most popular show. The angel's maneuver still lifted the spirits of the audience and left them speechless every time. "Swan Lake" was only going to be performed for one more night and it was time to prepare for the next show.

Sora was cast as Belle and Leon as the beast, though it would be hard to make him look beastly or monstrous. May would be the witch who put the Prince under the curse, turning him into a beast until the rose withered. When the last petal fell he would die unless he could love somebody other than himself and be loved back.

As they were warming up Leon noticed that Billy was staring at Sora and for some reason he found it very irritating. He glared at Billy, who looked unaffected, which was unusual considering Leon's glares could very well cause the next ice age. The young man confidently sauntered up with a confident gleam in his eye.

"Sora," he started, the young starlet looked up.

"Oh, hi Billy." She had a surprised smile on her face. She stood up and asked, "Is there something I can help you with?"

Billy just smiled and said, "As a matter of fact there is," he said quickly glancing in Leon's direction. "I was wondering if you were going to Kalos's party tonight."

Kalos and Sarah were throwing an engagement party at the Grand Cape Hotel that night. Leon was getting annoyed with the blond who was interrupting their practice time, but mostly because of the look he was giving Sora. "Yes," She answered, "are you?"

"That's why I was asking." He answered. "I was wondering if you would like to go with me."

"Oh!" She yelped, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks, was she really blushing for him? Leon fumed. Billy actually had the audacity to keep _his_ partner from practice over this? Be he wasn't sure what he was more mad about, Sora not practicing, or Billy pestering her. What was happening to him?

Sora on the other hand was taken complete by surprise and blushed because she was put on the spot. She and Billy had become pretty good friends in the short amount of time that he had worked at the Kaleido Stage but not close like May or Anna or Mia. She may even be pretty close to Leon, although he keeps to himself mostly. But she didn't see the look he was giving Billy.

"You see Billy, I…" but she didn't get to finish.

Leon snapped and stood up. He grabbed Sora by the elbow, interrupting her mid-sentence. Who knows, maybe he was just dreading the answer she might have been giving Billy.

"Sora, quit wasting time, we need to practice." Leon said in a harsh tone. Sora could tell that he was unhappy and it was probably her fault, but he still saved her from having to give Billy an answer, probably one that he didn't want.

"I'm sorry." She said quietly avoiding his eyes as he led her to the swings.

"Just don't waste too much time when we need to practice." He said in a softer tone.

What Sora didn't say was who she was hoping would ask her to the party.

* * *

"What about this one?" Sora asked, hoping that the dress would be adequate, because it was the last one she had. She looked to Fool in the flower print dress she was wearing. It made her look like an overdressed kindergartener.

"Still not right." The spirit stated. Sora gave an exasperated groan as she walked to the bathroom to take off the dress, she couldn't even change in her own room with the lecherous spirit there. She came to a disappointing realization; she had nothing else to wear. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"I'm coming!" She called.

May looked down at her and said, "Why aren't you dressed?" The Chinese acrobat was wearing a strapless scarlet dress made of silk with a black beaded flower on the hem, which stopped at mid-thigh. She wore black lace fingerless gloves. Her black hair was elegantly pulled into an up do showing her heart-shaped face.

Sora was looking rather sad in her shorts and T-shirt. "I don't have anything to wear!" She groaned.

"Come on." May said, dragging her by the hand to her apartment next door.

* * *

They arrived at the hotel about 30 minutes after the party started. The reception hall was full of Kalos and Sarah's friends and family, business partners and the like. It was nicely decorated and people were waltzing in the middle of the floor.

Layla and Yuri weren't able to attend; they were still on their own honeymoon. They had gotten married and honeymooned in the Caribbean and still hadn't returned, must be one hell of a honeymoon.

Sora's eyes scanned the crowd for familiar faces but instead of a face she saw a broad back. The lean muscles showed through his black silk dress-shirt. His silver hair was tied up in a ponytail and he was dress simply but he still would make Milan models jealous.

She walked up and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned to see who was behind him and was frozen speechless. A young woman with purple hair, his partner, was standing there, stealing the eyes of the crowd.

Her black cocktail dress was fitted perfectly against her petit frame, the neckline dipping low; he fought not to let his eyes wander. The hem of the dress barely made past mid-thigh and was split up the side. Her hair was pinned up and a few stray curls fell. Her strappy sandals adding a few inches to her height… she looked divine. His eyes connected with hers. They stood silent.

"Sora!" Yelled a happy voice. Ken Robbins came to greet her. He was dressed in a simple black suit and tie. "Glad to see you made it!" Ken was one of Sora's best friends and probably her first friend since joining the stage. His blue eyes sparkled. Leon knew that Ken had had a crush in Sora in the beginning but his interests seemed to lie elsewhere at the moment.

"You look great, Ken." She smiled happily, as they chatted. She didn't notice Billy behind her.

"Would you care to dance?" He asked. Sora was momentarily stunned. He looked great in his suit and was offering her a hand, and it was rude to refuse.

"Okay." She answered and he led her to the floor. Leon just watched after them, silently fuming. Again he was getting mad for some unknown reason.

"You look great tonight," Billy said.

"Oh thank you, Billy." She answered, turning her face to him. She couldn't keep her eyes off of a particular face in the crowd. She saw her partner look back with a gleam in his eye. _What is he thinking?_ She wondered, he almost looked mad for a moment.

She stepped on Billy's foot.

"I'm so sorry!" She was embarrassed by her lack of attention, the star of the Kaleido Stage unaware of her movements? That was strange.

"Its no problem," he chuckled like it was only natural for women to turn into total klutzes in his presence, who knows, they might for he certainly had his looks working in his favor. He opened his mouth to say something.

"May I cut in?" Asked a smooth deep voice that came from a different set of lips. Sora tuned to see Leon standing behind her, was he really asking her to dance? She looked from Billy to Leon, unsure of how to answer. "Um, okay." She thanked Billy for the dance and turned to Leon.

He put one strong hand firmly, yet gently, at her waist and took her hand in his other. He began to lead her in a waltz. She looked down at her feet to make sure she didn't make the same mistake she did with Billy.

A certain familiar shade of red caught her attention. To her surprise it was May. She didn't seem to be one to waltz but what caught Sora more by surprise what the person May was dancing with.

_I didn't know Ken and May were so close,_ she thought. They were standing pretty close together. She couldn't help but stare.

"It is rude not to look at your partner as you dance, Miss Naegino." Leon stated, drawing her eyes to his face. "Allow me to lead."

"I didn't know you danced Leon." She confessed, "You don't look much like the type who enjoys ballroom dancing."

"I used to dance as a child." He revealed. "My aunt owned a school for ballroom dance." Although he had mostly just asked her to dance to get her away from Billy, he was enjoying himself. Their bodies were close together now. The music slowly changed to a hug-and-sway dance. Leon and Sora unconsciously moved closer.

Sora, suddenly conscious of how close they were, blushed. Leon's eyes were locked onto hers. This only deepened her blush and she forced herself to look away.

The Leon said something that neither of them expected. "You look amazing tonight." Though amazing didn't quite cover what he thought. He was just as much in shock by his words as the one they were directed at. There was a small smile placed on his face, though nobody saw it, and they danced.

* * *

Sora stood in her dressing room looking at yet another bouquet of roses. She still wondered who sent them, was it Leon? But he didn't seem the type to send flowers. Maybe it was just a commemoration of the last performance of "Swan Lake." The card only held one word, _Congratulations_. She was ready.

She unexpectedly ran into Leon in the hall. She blushed at the thought of the previous night. She had never imagined being that close to him offstage. He seemed unfazed. Did he even think anything of it? Maybe he was used to being so close to women.

The thought angered Sora. She shook the thought away; she couldn't go on stage with angry thoughts. Then she looked up and asked "Leon, do you know anything about some purple roses?"

"No." he said. Leon did however see somebody entering her dressing room earlier that day. They seemed to be carrying a package. The man had looked familiar but he was wearing a hat and glasses so the image was vague. He was probably sent to deliver flowers. "We must be going." He added.

"Y-yeah." She sounded more nervous than usual. Maybe it was because this was the last show before a new one. But Sora rarely got nervous for a show. She loved the stage and couldn't wait to perform and see the joy of the audience.

Leon walked around to the other end of the stage. The giant amphitheater was already full of people.

Sora ran out into the lights.

* * *

It was almost time for the angels maneuver. Sora looked up and saw Leon ready to catch her. This was always the most emotional part of the performance. She began to jump. The feeling of the air flowing around her was exhilarating. She was flying. She loved the feeling. Her costume flowed around her.

She could feel the tension of the audience as they awaited the fateful reunion of the Prince and Princess. She looked up to her prince, he had a soft, loving expression on his face, but that was only acting, wasn't it? She almost never saw his expressions off the stage. Leon was a first-class performer; acting was second nature to him.

He held her hand for a brief second before pulling her into the air for the maneuver. His eyes caught hers for a moment, his beautiful eyes. She flew higher and the stage opened, revealing the sunrise on the ocean.

Her costume separated, turning to the angel's costume. She came back down to Leon and the real show began.

Sora came down for the almost-kiss they share as prince and princess. They pushed apart and she flew back into the air.

The fireworks began to go off. She reached for a swing. Something wasn't right.

Right as she was about to catch the trapeze, there was a bright flash and a burning sensation. Then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_That's odd_, thought Leon. The flash came early and he heard a scream.

He looked up in time to see Sora miss the swing, her hands clutching her face. The crowd went silent; they knew something was wrong. Panic spread through the air.

"LOWER THE SWINGS!" He screamed and flew forward. The swing brought him closer to Sora and he jumped. _I won't make it in time!_

His timing was perfect and they met in the air. He pulled her to him and clutched her to his chest as they fell. _What happened? It's not like her to miss._ Sora was clutching her face, quietly sobbing.

Leon caught the swing as the lights lowered. The crowd couldn't see what was happening. The swing lowered to the ground in the dark. Leon ran as soon as his feet found purchase, Sora sobbing into his chest.

* * *

May waited with the others. She hated hospitals; they smelled like rubbing alcohol and sick people. She had bad experiences with hospitals, like getting shots, her dislocated shoulder, getting shots, and now this.

Leon sat in a corner alone, his eyebrows furrowed in either thought or worry, it was hard to tell. May thought back to what happened.

Leon ran out in the middle of a show, Sora in his arms. May, just about to walk back for the end, was almost run over by him. She had never seen him show any expression other than anger, but this was a whole new face.

"CALL THE AMBULANCE!" He shrieked loud enough to make Kalos come out of his office in a panic. Leon, probably thinking the ambulance wouldn't be fast enough, just ran out the door.

He had run all the way to the hospital with Sora in his arms.

May could honestly say that that was the first time she ever saw that emotion drawn out of Leon; panic. He was almost hysterical but looked just empty now. May had been the only person to actually see his expression.

She was also very worried; although Sora was her biggest rival she was also her closest friend. Ken Robbins was sitting next to her, fidgeting. He must not like hospitals either, considering that he used to practically live in them before his operation. May took one of his hands in hers in an effort to calm him.

* * *

Sora lay in the hospital bed, listening to the sounds of the hospital. Her eyes were bandaged. She didn't remember how she got there; all she remembered was that she was too close when the firework went off. She remembered the sensation of falling after her hand missed the trapeze. She remembered the burning on her face. And remembered that she could have died if Leon hadn't been there. He had caught her when she fell. The one thing she was sure nobody knew was the reason she missed… she couldn't see the trapeze.

* * *

Leon was lost in thought. He was insane with worry. He hadn't felt like this since Sophie's accident... the accident that caused him to lose his only sister. He couldn't sit still and felt like everybody was staring, but not the kind of staring he was used to. He kept his eyes turned to the door.

Dr. Kate was busy talking to Kalos and Sarah; they were acting as Sora's guardians per the fact that her parents were back in Japan. He wished he could know what was going on. Sora was sleeping and everybody else was anxious.

The doctor walked out and that somebody could go into her room, but they had to be quiet because Sora was sleeping. Everybody turned as Leon silently got up and walked into the room.

* * *

Sora heard the door open and pretended to sleep. She felt the presence of her visitor, but couldn't see who it was. She felt a cool, strong hand on her forehead, a hand that she held in almost every performance. Her partner was in the room with her. She didn't want to have to answer any questions. She pretended to sleep.

He sat down in a chair next to the bed and watched her sleep. Her chest rose and fell evenly though her heart rate seemed a bit high. He just watched. He could see the bandages over her eyes. The door opened and Dr. Kate walked in.

* * *

Sora heard the door open again. She heard the light footsteps of a woman, but didn't stir. She heard them whisper, the voice belonged to Dr. Kate.

"Mr. Oswald," she heard, "I think you should know Sora's condition, since you are her partner."

He agreed, his eyes wandering over to his supposedly sleeping partner

"Sora's face was burned, and I understand that this was from an accident with the fireworks, correct?"

"Yes." He said quietly and she continued. Sora was anxious to hear more.

"Her burns were the most severe in the area around her eyes," She said, "she said she couldn't see the trapeze and that's why she fell…"

Leon's eyes shot up to meet Dr. Kate's. "We don't know for sure yet how extensive the damage was to her eyes, and we don't know how long or even if they will heal." What she said next stopped his breath short. Sora had to force herself to remain silent, she almost sobbed.

"Leon, Sora might never be able to perform again."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Layla Hamilton stared out the window of the plane. She thought about the phone call received a few hours earlier.

"Layla! I'm so glad I got a hold of you." Sarah had said. "There's been an accident." She almost dropped the phone, Yuri looked at her with a worried expression on his face, they were on their honeymoon.

"_Sarah what happened?" She asked panicked, hoping everyone was okay. _

"It's Sora."

The plane was landing at the Cape Mary airport where there was a car already waiting to take them to the hospital. Layla was feeling a little nauseous; she had been for a few days and thought maybe she caught a cold. The landing wasn't helping any.

"Layla," Yuri Killian, her husband, said taking her hand, "we're home."

* * *

"Layla! Yuri! I'm so glad you made it home safe." Sarah said embracing them. "I'm sorry to have to bring you back earlier than expected." She said in her English accent.

"It's fine." Layla said, returning the embrace, "is everyone alright? How's Sora?" Anyone could understand how one would be worried about a dear friend, but Sora was more than a friend, she made Layla see the stage in a whole new way.

Sarah proceeded to explain the situation and how Sora will be unable to perform for some time.

"That's horrible!" She exclaimed. "Can I see her?"

"Leon's in with her now," Sarah explained, "and I think she's sleeping but you can go if the doctor is okay with it. Are you okay, dear? You look rather pale."

"I'm fi-" The nausea had come back and sent Layla running for the nearest bathroom. Yuri was with her holding her hair out of her face.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's probably just a cold or maybe I ate something bad." She insisted.

"You should get checked while we're here, just to be on the safe side." Her husband insisted as he led her to see the doctor.

* * *

"_She may never be able to perform again."_

This sentence kept repeating itself in his mind. _Never be able to perform again._ What is he going to do? She was the only person who could be his partner.

Leon placed his hand on her forehead. She didn't stir from her sleep. He watched her in silence, almost scared to let her out of his sight. His heart was beating faster than normal. Why was he feeling like this? He couldn't answer. What will happen to us if she can no longer perform? She might go back to Japan. This thought was the worst… the thought that she may not be by his side.

What was happening to him?

She stirred and he froze, hand over he head. He quickly pulled away, and then remembered that she couldn't see him. He moved a little closer.

"Leon?" She whispered, almost unsure if it was him. Her voice sounded small.

"Yes." He answered, assuring her that she was not alone. She seemed relieved.

"I'm glad you're here." She said groggily, the medication Dr. Kate gave her was working. She tried to sit up.

"You should rest." Leon said, helping her sit up anyways. He let his had linger on her shoulder a little too long.

"I'm fine," she squeaked, as there was a knock on the door.

"Leon," Dr. Kate peeked in and saw that Sora was awake, "Sora, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she repeated. " A little tired, though."

"That means the medication is working. You may need to stay for a few days though, just so we can make sure everything is healing properly."

"Okay." She said quietly, although she clearly heard what Dr. Kate had said to Leon earlier.

"Leon," Dr. Kate turned to him, "its time for you to leave, visiting hours are over."

He showed no expression, though he did not want to leave.

"Alright." He answered.

Sora panicked. "You'll be back right?"

"Of course." He answered with a small smile that no one saw.

* * *

Sora dreamt that night. She dreamt of the trapeze and of Leon. She reached out to him, he was smiling. His violet eyes shining.

Then, there was a flash and all went dark. Sora saw herself in the dark, silent, and alone.

She sat bolt upright, feeling for anything indicating that everything was real. She curled up and struggled to find sleep.

* * *

"Come in." Sora said at the knock the a few days later. A set of footsteps entered her room, she smelled flowers.

"Hi." A masculine voice said, though it was not the voice she expected. This voice belonged to a different young man whom she had not known very long.

"Billy?" She questioned.

"How ya doin', superstar?" He asked, setting down the flowers he brought.

"I could be better," she said, indicating the hospital atmosphere. "How's the weather?"

"Its sunny, very warm, but also looks like it might rain." He said lightly. "But you might be able to keep things bright." This brought a smile to her face.

* * *

The sun was shining, the ocean wind played with his hair as he walked towards the hospital. He looked out onto the sea and noticed how beautiful it really was. I guess you realize these things when you think of not being able to see them. It brings around a new appreciation for small things.

He spotted a flower shop on the way. The outside was decorated with beautiful carnations, lilies, and any type of flower you could think of. He went in. It was only customary to bring flowers to one being visited in a hospital.

He couldn't help but notice the look he was getting from the cashier.

"Can I help you?" She said in a flirty voice. The cashier was young and not too bad in the looks department, but this had no affect. He was browsing around the shop when his eyes settled on beautiful, pure white orchids.

"I would like those." He said, ignoring the cashier's advances. She seemed to catch on to the fact that he wasn't interested. This soured her mood a bit.

He walked to her room in the hospital and heard laughter. She was not alone. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." Came her soft voice.

The door opened and he saw who her company was. This didn't do much for his mood.

"Hello." He said.

"Leon!" Sora called, happier than she showed. He saw the roses on her bedside and put down his flowers.

"Billy." He nodded. Thought he would rather not acknowledge him.

"Leon, I'm so glad you came." Sora said, she couldn't believe he actually came, but then she remembered he was probably only repaying her for visiting him previously. He probably only worried because she was his partner, nothing more. This thought saddened her.

"Hello, _Mr. Oswald._" Billy said. He was testing Leon's patience.

"They said I might be able to leave the day after tomorrow!" Sora said excitedly.

"That's great!" Billy enthused. He thought that he could spend time _taking care_ of Sora. "Maybe I could take you out to dinner in celebration." He hinted. This didn't settle to well with Leon, frankly it just pissed him off.

"Who will be helping you in the mean time?" Leon asked.

"I coul-" Billy started when suddenly-

"GOOD MORNING!" May burst into the room. "How are you?" She saw the men. "Hello Leon, Billy." She added.

"May-san!" Sora jumped. She wasn't expecting as many visitors.

"I heard the good news," Ken silently walked in behind her. "We need to take you to see everyone." _See_, this saddened Sora a little, but may didn't notice. "We'll show everyone that you're okay!"

* * *

Sora received many visitors over the next few days and finally she was able to leave. Kalos drove her back himself.

They visited the cast at the stage. While Kalos was assuring everybody that she was okay, Sora waited in his office, she heard the door open and smelled a familiar perfume.

"Layla?" She asked.

"Sora!" Layla embraced her. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm fine." She said for the billionth time. "I'm glad you're here though, now the show can go on."

"Actually Sora, about that-" she paused when Yuri and Kalos walked in.

"Hello Sora." Yuri greeted her.

"Hello," she replied, "I'm sorry that you cut you're honeymoon short because of me." She apologized.

"No, no it's fine, we're just glad you're okay." They replied.

Kalos interceded. "I know you're supposed to be off, but would you two be able to fill in for the show?" He asked.

Layla and Yuri stood silent.

"I'm sorry," Yuri started, "but we can't."

"Why not?" Sora puzzled. "The show would be much better if Layla played."

"Its not possible Sora." Layla answered this time.

"Why? Miss Layla, you are one of the greatest performers on the stage." She continued.

"Sora, you don't seem to understand, you are as great and maybe even better than I was but I simply can't do it because…" Layla paused, Leon walked in.

"… I'm pregnant."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"KYYAAAAAA!"

May almost jumped out of her skin. She burst into Kalos's office, ignoring the papers flying around the hall, so much for delivering flyers.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!" She shrieked. She knew she heard a scream and would not be the last to know why. She saw Sora in Layla's arms, LAUGHING! She was jumping up and down in excitement. What surprised her more was that Layla was doing the same! Leon, who had been standing in the doorway, just turned around and walked out. Guess the excitement was just a little too much for his taste.

May noticed Yuri Killian standing off to one side with beaming grin on his face. Something was up. Kalos looked even more surprised, but also puzzled, which was also a little weird. We were talking about the man who knew what to do almost all the time. Sarah walked in behind May.

May was fed up with being ignored.

"HEY!" She yelled, finally grabbing their attention. Sora tried to look in May's general direction, though that didn't turn out to well considering that her eyes were wrapped with enough gauze to wrap a mummy. Layla just looked surprised to see her, shocked, nervous and giddy all at the same time.

Something was definitely up.

"What is going on?" She asked a little quieter. Yuri was standing there grinning like an idiot and Layla simply blushed, Sarah had an expectant look on her face. Layla took a deep breath to compose herself but Kalos interrupted.

"She won't be able to perform." Kalos said curtly.

"Why not?" She asked.

Sora unable to hold back her excitement simply shrieked, "Miss Layla's having a baby!"

Now let's just say that most of the company in Kalos's office may be in the need of hearing aids in the near future.

* * *

Leon could still hear the screaming from the other end of the hall. He was also quite shocked. Who knew that Layla would actually be with child? She would probably officially retire now, but then again, this was Layla Hamilton (the heiress kept her last name after marriage). The same woman who still continued to perform, even after severely damaging her shoulder performing the Legendary Great Maneuver, the same woman who, with his partner, had successfully performed said maneuver.

Who will perform the lead roles? Layla couldn't for obvious reasons, though unknown to the rest. Leon turned and walked back to the office.

* * *

As the girls pried themselves off each other, a thought suddenly struck May.

"Wait, if Layla can't perform, then who's going to play the lead?" She asked out loud.

Kalos furrowed his brow. He was hit by a sudden realization, and judging by the look on his face, he had everything covered.

Leon strode back in; he wanted to know what would happen regarding the situation they were in.

Kalos broke the silence; everybody stared expectantly, Sora just sat still, unsure of which direction to turn in.

"Maybe we could call in-"

"May can do it!" Sora interrupted. And everybody turned to her; she probably felt their stares because she immediately blushed for being so bold. May just gaped. Had she really just been volunteered/nominated to play the lead? I mean sure she did it before but she was clearly outdone by Sora.

Layla was the next to speak, "Who will be her partner?" Everybody turned to Leon who seemed less than impressed, Sora seriously thought about this problem. Just as she was about to speak, May interrupted.

"I have a partner." She stated, much to the shock of the others.

"Who?"

"You'll see…" she smirked.

_A/N: Sorry for the wait, i know its short, please be patient with me._


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Okay, one… two… three… fou- oomph!"

"Table." Fool said.

Sora rubbed her shin. She was back in her dorm room after being brought home by May. She offered to walk Sora back on her way to her room. May said she had a lot of practice to do. What did she mean by "I already have a partner"? Who could it be? Not just anybody could handle May.

Sora started to count again. She was trying to memorize the steps to get around her room. It wouldn't be good to be injured otherwise when her eyes healed. Fool had been just floating there watching. The spirit of the stage wanted to see how she'd fare. She needed to be able to move about on her own, she did live alone after all. Maybe she should go home until she healed, then she wouldn't be in the way and mom and dad would be happy to see her, even under the circumstances.

"Seven… eight… nine…" she had her hands out in front of her, though it didn't help her much, she still managed to walk into the corner of something.

"Ow…" she said holding her stomach, "I think I found the counter." She called back in the direction she thought was her room. She started to count again.

* * *

"AGAIN!" May screamed. She swung from the trapeze towards the arms of her "partner." Their hands slipped again. She looked back up at the other person.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" May exploded, grateful for the net in the practice-room. This was the tenth time!

"I'm sorry May!" The other yelled back.

She ignored the apology and climbed back, her mind running a mile a minute. There was only three days until opening night and they still haven't perfected the most important part. They needed to perfect it; she couldn't have the others looking down on her for this kind of mistake.

She grabbed hold of the trapeze and looked to her partner. This was something she just had to do. She jumped.

* * *

"One-hundred-ninety-seven, one-hundred-ninety-eight, one-hundred-ninety-nine…" Leon pulled his chin up over the bar. He let himself focus solely on counting. His forehead shown with a layer of sweat. He needed to keep himself occupied.

He swung himself up onto the bar and jumped, landing gracefully on the next bar. He went through the motions of his performances. Jumping to the closest swing, he began to dance through the air. Jumping from one swing to the next one may think the man was actually flying, floating gracefully through the air.

He could hear the music of the angel's act almost in sync with the very beat of his heart. He could feel the emotions of the audience, their joy, their laughter, the tension as the characters lose themselves into temptations. He felt the heat of the dazzling stage lights, though that wasn't the only dazzling thing there. His partner's dazzling smile rivaled the brightness of the lights as she reached towards him, her joy tied to that of the audience. She held out her hands to him, the most beautiful expression dawning her face, she was the princess. He felt the corners of his mouth lift as he reached, their hands only a few mere inches apart.

Then, there was silence. He just stared at the fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. He just lay on the safety net. He gaze shifted to the swing he missed. He no longer saw his partner, the silence leaving an almost empty feeling in his chest. Leon laid his head back and through his arm over his eyes, sighing. What was he doing?

He was unaware of the pair of eyes watching him from outside the door.

* * *

"DAMN!" May raced out her door, jumping over the railing to the ground. She was late. May of all people was late for practice for possibly the most important show of her life, running into something with the strength of a brick wall in the process.

She looked up to see a slightly surprised Leon staring down at her. She picked up his book off the ground.

"Sorry."

She looked at her watch and shrieked.

Leon stared after her with a raised eyebrow. He continued walking. There was a crash and the sound of broken glass.

* * *

Knock-knock-knock. Well actually it was more like BANG-BANG-BANG! And a little yelling on the side, consisting of "SORA ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

She stumbled over and felt for the doorknob, getting a few minor cuts and burns on her feet in the process. Finally she found it and stumbled out of the apartment and into something big, or rather someone with a very worried expression she couldn't see.

She felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her and put her up right, causing her to wince.

"Sora?" A very distinctly familiar voice said, worriedly.

"Leon?" She questioned. Placing her hands on his chest and slightly backing off, her cheeks reddening. There was a sharp intake of breath, the pressure on her feet being the cause.

Leon looked passed her and saw the cause of the crashing sound he heard earlier. It looked like Sora had been trying to boil water for tea and dropped it. He saw the trail of blood leading to her red feet.

She gasped as she felt herself being lifted off her feet and felt movement as she was carried back into the apartment.

"W-what are you doing?" She gasped. Leon dropped her, not un-gently, onto her bed, and began to empty out her cupboards. She heard something fall, followed by a muttered "damn" she probably wasn't supposed to hear. "Leon?"

"Where is your first aid kit?" He asked, now calm. She didn't seem to notice his worry, being as focused as she was on slowing her heart rate.

"Under the sink in the bathroom." She answered and felt a small breeze as he walked by her.

Leon was looking though the cupboard under the sink when he heard the soft clearing of a throat. He looked up to see the spirit of the stage perched on the faucet of the sink. Fool just stared. "Hello, Leon."

"Fool." Leon nodded. Sora unaware that her partner could also see the spirit of the stage. As far as she knew only Layla, possibly Rosetta, and herself could see Fool.

"Left side." Fool muttered.

And Leon replied with a curt "Thank you," and briskly walked back into Sora's room.

"Did you find it?" She asked.

"Yes," he replied. "Let me see your feet."

She blushed as he gently took one foot in his hands. Both of her feet could probably fit in one of his strong hands. He began to disinfect the multiple small cuts on the soles of her feet. The alcohol stung but she'd had worse.

Leon could only think of how small she seemed, almost fragile. Yet she was strong. Sora had been through a lot in her life, all for the sake of performing. He had just finished bandaging her feet when she asked, "How bad are they?"

It took him a moment to shake himself from his thoughts. "Excuse me?"

"My feet." She pointed.

"Just a few small scratches, but nothing bad." He assured her. "I think you should stay off of them for a while though." He stated. "You are also recovering and should rest."

"Okay." She replied, knowing he was right and not wanting to argue. She sat up and placed her feet on the floor, the band-aids helped a little but her feet still stung.

"What are you doing?" Leon asked, a little irritated, did he not just tell her to rest? Why was she getting back up?

"I'm making lunch." She said as-a-matter-of-factly, as if he was asking her if the sky was blue.

"Sit down." He ordered.

"But I-"

"Sit." There was no room for argument.

He walked to the kitchen. She heard him rifling through the cupboards yet again. There was a pop, a crack, a sizzle, and something that smelled great!

A few minutes later she heard him walking back in with something rattling.

He set a tray down in front of her and she was confronted with the great smell again. She reached down and found a fork. Leon had cooked her lunch! She took a bite and found that he made her an omelet.

"MMM!" it was delicious! He grinned then saw the time. He had to go.

"I need to go." He said. "I have an appointment."

"Okay, thank you." She said, a little sad that he had to leave.

"I will see you later." He said.

This surprised her, but what shocked her more was what he said next.

"What would you like for dinner?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

It was the day before opening night and for almost the first time ever, May was nervous. She had one day before the show to compose herself. That amount may seem like more than enough but this was the first show ever with her new partner and she wasn't sure how it would be handled between the both of them.

She knew Layla would be watching and she couldn't disappoint her, she just couldn't. The show was "Beauty and the Beast" and though May was playing the beauty she was acting quite beastly.

"AGAIN!" She shrieked and her partner thought she might be part banshee or something. She was pushing them both to be perfect. This was by no means May's first lead role but it may as well have been her most important. She let go of the trapeze and flew through the air. She saw her partner reaching and began the complicated climax maneuver. This was where they always failed. She straitened and reached. She closed her eyes and willed herself to breathe.

"MMM!" Sora purred. "This is delicious!"

Leon felt a little proud and he wore a small smile. He had decided to take care of Sora until her eyes healed, he didn't want another boiling water incident like the day before. She didn't need to be injured anymore. He couldn't help but laugh when he had walked into her apartment. She had been wearing a bright pink shirt with white hearts all over it, orange pants and two clashing socks, not a single article of her clothing matched and she looked like a rainbow threw up all over her!

She had been angry angry when he wouldn't tell her why he was laughing and this made him laugh even more! Finally he was able to breath again, though with some soreness in his stomach, long enough to ask if she knew what she was wearing.

She had immediately blushed and proceeded to tell him that May had been helping her pick out her clothing until she started to freak out about the show and left earlier each morning.

"Ne, Leon?" Sora was asking.

Leon snapped himself out of his thoughts. "_Pardon?_" He remembered she didn't speak French. "I'm sorry?"

She sighed, "I said are you going to see the show?"

"I do not think so." He answered

"Why not?" She pushed.

"Because I find that it would be rude to leave you alone while I go to see the show."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You don't want to go because I'm not?" She asked.

"Oui."

"Well then, you can pick me up at 7" she said as a matter-of-factly.

"_Pardon?_" He said again, this time because he didn't get what she was saying.

"For the show." She said triumphantly.

"But why would you go if you cannot see it?"

"I want to be there to cheer May on, and besides, we need to show everybody that I'm okay. I won't get any better if I'm cooped up here all the time."

He raised an eyebrow thoughtfully, "We should ask Dr. Kate first." He said.

"Fine, she wanted me to call her anyways to make sure I'm feeling okay."

* * *

Leon walked out of the dorm room with the distinct feeling that he was being watched. He had been having this feeling lately but did not understand why. Something was just off, he must have needed more sleep than he thought, and continued walking.

He chuckled to himself, ignoring the strange feeling and thinking about how Sora wanted to go to the show anyways. Going out could be good for her though, get some fresh air, and socialize a bit. He couldn't see why the doctor would say no.

He walked on debating what to cook that night for dinner. Something, probably a squirrel moved in the bushes.

* * *

Layla walked into the room across the hall from her own in her and Yuri's mansion. Her father had gone a little overboard after hearing the good news.

The room made her happy though, the beautiful hardwood furniture, the bedding of the highest quality, lace curtains, a shag carpet across the floor providing padding for any little ones, and the rocking chair used by her own mother to rock her to sleep. One of her favorite parts was the mural.

On one wall there was a giant tree, swings hanging from the branches and soaring through the air were figures, the figures of performers flying from swing to swing. Dressed in colorful costumes and flying through the air, the performers dawned the faces of loved ones, Sora, May and Leon flying with so many others, and herself and Yuri sitting together on the highest swing, gazing lovingly into the crib, like guardian angels. The sky painted on the ceiling was of the clearest crystal blue, a golden sun, which would become the moon and stars when the lights went out hung at the center.

Layla couldn't help but tear up at the sight of the nursery, she may not have felt ready a few days earlier but now she can't wait for the life she and her husband created to come and bring more happiness into their lives.

She felt a pair of warm, protective arms wrap around her and she eased back and leaned into her husband. She heard a sniffle and turned, only to see that her husband, the great performer Yuri Killian, was on the brink of tears, his eyes shining with joy and anxiousness. The thought of that man holding the small bundle in his arms, cooing adoringly brought even more tears to her eyes. He placed a kiss on her forehead and smiled lovingly at her, they still had eight months to wait, but for them, the baby couldn't be here fast enough.

* * *

Sora awoke the next morning to the sound of birds and the warm sunlight on her face. She felt refreshed after getting a good night's sleep and excited for the show that night. She got up and did a few morning stretches, careful not to hit the lamp on the bedside table. She inhaled deeply through her nose and found a subtle difference.

The room smelled different than usual, it was a small difference yet very familiar, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She felt her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

Sora groped around the counter and faucet only to find that her toothbrush wasn't where she left it, strange.

"Good morning." A certain spirit of the stage greeted.

"Good morning Fool." Sora yawned away the last bits of sleep, "Have you seen my toothbrush?"

"No," He paused, "did you accidentally knock it into the trash?" He tried to think, something did feel different that night but even spirits need sleep.

"Maybe, I'll ask May if she has any spares." She thought aloud and wandered to the front door, grinning triumphantly as she successfully navigated the apartment without, stubbing her toe, knocking anything over, or causing herself or any of the objects in the place any bodily harm.

The smell was stronger in the kitchen. _What is that smell? Did I leave the fridge open? No. Perfume? Maybe, but nothing I have._

She managed to make it to May's front door and knocked. She waited a bit and knocked again.

"She must be getting ready for the show." She thought aloud, May was very serious about this performance, she left so early every morning that Sora couldn't get any help with her clothing and the like, though she was doing a bit better on her own.

May was really pushing her and her mysterious partner for perfection this time, but tonight it would be revealed. Oh how she wished she could watch the show.

"Hey beautiful, how ya doin'?" Called a familiar friendly voice, belonging to one with blue eyes and blond hair.

"Billy?" Sora was still getting used to identifying people by voice.

"Smart and Pretty! Well aren't you just the whole package." He said smoothly, enticing a blush from Sora's cheeks, one that only darkened a few shades when she remembered she was still wearing her pajamas… and she didn't even know which ones!

"What are you doing out here anyways?" He asked with a small sound on his face.

"Oh, I was going to ask May if she had a spare toothbrush," she added, "I lost mine."

"Huh." Was all he said and then there was a silence.

"W-why don't you come in?" She invited.

"Don't mind if I do." He added cheerily.

"Nice place you got." He said when he walked in. "Where'd you get the flowers?"

This caught her attention, Sora didn't keep flowers, she'd love to but didn't have the time to work to keep them alive.

"Flowers?"

"The roses." He added.

"Roses! That's the smell!" She exclaimed, that was why her place smelled different.

Billy looked around, "You okay?" He asked slowly, he didn't get what she was so excited about."

"I'm fine. I just couldn't quite put my finger on why the place smelled different this morning…" she paused, thinking.

"What?"

"I don't remember them being there last night, and I didn't let anybody in this morning…" this kind of worried her, how did they get there?

"Maybe it was a get well gift from somebody who had access to keys?" He offered.

"You're probably right." She felt a little relieved, who could it have been, she could only think of a few people with access to her apartment, there was Sarah, the dorm manager, May, she had a key in case of emergencies, and Leon, she gave him her spare key because he was taking care of her.

"AH!" Billy shrieked.

"What?" Sora jumped.

"I'm Late! I need to go set up for the show! See you later Sora!" He rushed out.

* * *

It was 6:55 and so far, Leon was on time. He was very keen on being punctual. He had lain out Sora's clothing the night before because he knew he couldn't go that day, he was asked to assist in setting up for the performance, he just hoped she had no trouble getting ready.

He knocked on her door and heard a small "I'm coming." And footsteps on the other side. The door opened and there stood his partner. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt. He chuckled when he noticed that he was wearing something very similar. She was also wearing a pair of wide sunglasses, covering most of her bandages, her hair covering the rest. She reached out and touched his chest. "Leon!" She said happily, it looked like she was more than ready to go to the show.

"Are you ready?" He asked civilly.

"Yep, let's go."

* * *

The crowd cheered as Sora waved. Kalos had insisted that she appeared on the stage to show everybody that she was okay, she kept the sunglasses on though, so they didn't panic about the bandages. As far as the audience knew, Sora was healthy but just taking a break from performing, letting her friend take the lead for a while.

Leon stood beside her, playing his part as her partner. He waved to the audience and finally led Sora to her seat when the show was about to start.

The show opened with Belle, a merchant's beautiful daughter, in the village, surrounded by admirers, especially the arrogant hunter, who thought she was the only one to match his beauty, though she was not full of vanity as he.

As the show progressed many people were drawn in by May's performance as they watched in awe and silence. The performer who played the beast was masked, so May's partner remained a mystery for the time being.

As the shoe progressed, Sora remained silent, playing the part of an audience member applauding in all the right places and laughing when appropriate, but inside she was feeling strange. Leon watched her for part of the show, wondering what she was thinking.

* * *

The show reached its climax and May began to swing, preparing for one of the most difficult maneuvers she has performed. This was it, they only had one chance to get it right and this was where it counted. She spotted Layla and Yuri in the audience.

Much to her surprise, she had seen Sora too. Sora was there to cheer her on, even though she couldn't see it. She couldn't let them down. It's now or never. She thought of how Sora would handle it and smiled. With a surge of confidence and pride, May jumped.

* * *

Leon watched closely as the show reached its climax, the curse was about to be broken. He especially watched the prince closely. The mask began to slip as he jumped towards the next set of trapeze. They maneuvered through a maze of lights and swings, performing a never seen before maneuver.

They met at the center and the mask flew off the prince's face in a flurry of confetti and light.

Leon looked very closely, as did most of the rest of the audience. The prince was not somebody the audience has ever seen before, but this was a face well known to Leon and the rest of the cast.

The man that leaned in to the princess's kiss, had very familiar sandy blonde, almost ginger colored hair and very blue eyes, belonging to somebody who had been a member of the stage for quite some time.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Leon stared in astonishment at the very familiar face beaming next to May. He had ginger-blonde hair and blue eyes. He leaned in close to May, faces only centimeters apart. May's partner had been a part of the Kaleido Stage since before Leon, before Sora, and before May. He was one who was always there, making sure everything went smoothly. He was a dear friend to all at the stage.

Leon just watched in silence as Ken stared into May's eyes, even though they were only supposed to be acting in love, Leon sensed there was more to it than that.

* * *

Sora heard the crowd go silent; she could feel their awe and emotion down to the very core of herself. She felt their excitement, their suspense, their love, she felt it all… but she couldn't be a part of it. She couldn't be the cause of such emotions like before. She couldn't bring them the happiness she felt when on the stage, the love she held for it. She felt utterly alone in a world cloaked in darkness.

Her nose began to sting, an indication that she was about to cry, but she knew no tears would come. She knew she couldn't cry, or see, or perform, and she couldn't bear it. She couldn't live like this.

* * *

May beamed on the stage next to her new partner. She had thought of this for a while but never thought he'd agree. She knew Ken was forced to stop performing when he was young, due to a heart condition, but now he was better, and she knew he could do it. He was much more than she expected though, so much more.

Her eyes met his and she saw a special spark in his eyes, something she never thought would be because of her. He smiled, and she did too. He leaned a little closer and so did she. His eyes stared into hers and she, decided she'd been patient enough, grabbed his collar and pulled.

Their lips met, there, on the stage, in front of hundreds of people, but they were alone.

* * *

Leon gaped at the scene on stage as the characters shared a kiss. Something else caught his attention though, something other than the lip-locked couple. Fireworks had gone off as the scene progressed, the only thing was they looked different, though he couldn't quite say what. He'd go have a look later. He turned to look at Sora who was strangely quiet. "Is everything alright?" He asked softly.

She jumped at his voice, like she had been thinking about something other than the show. "Everything is fine, I just wish I could see why everybody's cheering like that."

The crowd had grown very loud in their cheers, obviously surprised. Leon smirked and leaned in close to Sora, whispering in her ear.

"EH!" She had turned toward him, shock showing clearly on her face, and then she started laughing and cheering along with the rest of the audience. Looks like she approved.

Leon looked back and saw the look in Ken's eyes as he stared at May, a secret look only for her, but he seemed to have forgotten about the stage.

* * *

Leon and Sora had decided to walk back to the dorms that night, it was beautiful outside and they didn't want to waste the clear night. Leon had held out his arm, so as to escort Sora, which she so graciously accepted (mostly because she didn't want to walk into any trees with him around).

"That was great, thank you Leon." She smiled. Although she had not seen the show, per say, she still enjoyed it. Leon had kept her updated on what was happening in the scenes and so on so she wasn't too lost.

"The pleasure was mine," He said with a noble air, which made Sora feel as though she was walking with royalty. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

They walked in a comfortable silence, but then there was a small rustle, Leon turned toward the noise. He felt Sora tense up beside him, she heard it too.

Leon saw a squirrel run up the tree near the bush. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He had been having the strangest feeling lately, almost as though he was being watched.

"Is everything alright?" Sora asked.

Leon, not wanting to worry her, replied with, "Yes everything is fine, I thought I heard something but it was only a squirrel."

Sora let out a relieved sigh. She looked a little worried. "Leon, are we almost home?"

He looked down the walk a little and saw her dorm only a small distance away. "Yes, We are almost to your room." She looked relieved again, did she really want to get away from him that badly, she had been avoiding conversation all night, which was strange for her.

They were almost to the door when Leon said, "I will be unable to see you tomorrow, will you be alright by yourself for one day?" He had some things he needed to take care of.

"Oh I think I'll be able to keep myself occupied for one day." She said with a small smirk.

"No cooking." He said flatly. "The last thing we need is you burning down the building."

"Fine. Fine." She said. "I'll use the microwave."

"No."

"And why not?" She looked a little annoyed.

"You cannot tell where the numbers are."

"Fine, cold food it is." She laughed. "Good night, Leon, and thank you."

"_Bon soir_, _Mon Cheri_." He replied in French.

"What?"

"Good night." My sweet, but he didn't say the second part out loud.

"See you." She said, closing the door.

* * *

Fool heard rustling in the room. He knew Sora had returned home some time ago, but she didn't say much when she walked in and he didn't really ask about her night, not like she offered up much about it. There was a small crash and bit off curse. He floated into Sora's room to see something resembling a balance beam in the center and on the floor a frustrated Sora.

"What are you doing?" She jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Fool! Can't you knock, or make a sound or something!" She cried, getting up off the floor, she was wearing her practice clothes.

"I apologize, so what are you doing?"

"Nothing!" She said, obviously trying to hide something.

"Sora, I am a spirit, and you do know of some spirits' 'special' talents, don't you?"

"W-what do you mean?" She stammered.

"Sora I know what you're thinking…" he grinned.

Her hands shot to the sides of her head "You can read minds!"

"No not really but you still need to tell me what's going on. Is that a balance beam?"

She was silent.

"How did you manage to put it together? You can't see." That last part hit her like a punch in the gut.

"I know that Fool," she said sharply "but I can't just sit around, it just doesn't feel right."

"You could hurt yourself."

"Worse than not being able to see? Fool please, just let me, I just can't stay like this." He could hear the misery in her voice.

"Alright, but you're not doing this alone."

* * *

She slowly raises her left leg, knee bent, higher till her knee touched her chest. She slowly straightened her knee so her leg was horizontal to the bar. Slowly still, she bent her right leg until she was almost sitting on her ankle. He straightened her leg again, finishing her 90th one legged squat, but she was just warming up.

She straightened her leg and with her left leg still horizontal to the bar, began to spin, faster, faster, faster. Her foot slipped and this time she didn't see the floor rushing up to meet her.

* * *

He could hear the echo of his footsteps across the floor, that was the only sound other than his breathing. It was late and the stage was empty, everybody had gone home for the night, everybody but Leon Oswald.

He switched on the lights in the rafters. The climb was a short one.

He just paced the rafters when he was up there, his mind at work. The rafters were a surprisingly good place to think. Why had Sora seemed so eager to get away from him that night? Had he offended her? He didn't know, maybe it was the show. He sat down, his feet hanging off the side.

He closed his eyes and saw himself on the swings, reaching out to catch somebody, a certain Japanese girl with purple hair and big brown eyes. He saw her smile as she reached toward him. He reached back. Suddenly his mind flashed and the picture changed. It changed to one of the young star holding her face, sobbing into her hands and falling.

He gasped as he came back to reality. He looked around to make sure this was real. He noticed something strange off to his left. He decided to see why that one section of the rafters looked different.

As he got closer he noticed a piece pointing in a direction that was different from the rest. He examined the piece more closely and realized that the piece was actually a firework, one that had already been launched, why hadn't it been removed? He thought back and looked down at the angle of the firework as it was pointed to the stage, it should have been pointed upward. He tried to move it and noticed that it wasn't loose, almost like it had been turned that way purposely.

He looked down at the stage again and imagined someone swinging from one swing to the next and then he saw Sora and it hit him.

What happened to Sora may not have been an accident.

_A/N: Sorry about the wait! Please forgive me!_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Leon just sat and stared at the fireworks launcher. Who would turn it so it was aimed at the stage? He didn't know anybody who would even think of doing such a thing, but yet somebody did, but was this enough proof to say that somebody was out to get Sora? Not just anybody could have done this either, they needed to have access to the stage, so it had to be a member of the crew.

He tried to think of who could have done it. Not May, she wouldn't use such means to secure a role, besides she and Sora were friends now. Definitely not Ken, he had had feelings for Sora, though now they're directed elsewhere. Anna and Mia were Sora's best friends and had gone on a trip to visit Anna's boyfriend Dio at the circus camp and are only returning in the morning. The rest of the crew was too serious to sabotage a show like that. There were some who were jealous of Sora, he would be lying if he said there weren't, but they seemed to have lightened up over time and now are actually on friendly terms.

Sora was the kindest person around, who would want to harm her? He could feel his blood pressure rising just thinking about it. Somebody would dare harm _his_ Sora? He paced as he thought, then something else caught his eye. There, on the platform next to the launcher, was a piece of cloth, a small black patch. He picked it up and put it in his pocket. He would have to look into this more. He walked off in the direction of Kalos's office.

The next morning, Sora woke up extra early. She pulled out her makeshift balance beam and began to stretch. She needed to get some practice in before Leon showed up. She had slept in her practice clothes so she could get to practice faster. She stretched her arms, legs, back, everything you could imagine, just so she doesn't injure herself more, though practicing while blinded is not the best thing to do during recovery.

* * *

She stepped up onto the beam, finding her balance, and raised one leg until she was in her angel pose and kept it, shifting slightly to adjust her weight. She lowered her leg and brought it forward and began to spin in a pirouette. She went faster and faster, shifting to keep her balance. Fool just watched.

He saw the bruises spotting her shoulders and parts of her legs from her other times practicing. She'd might to wear longer sleeves to cover them up. She didn't want others to know what she was up to. Sora seemed more upbeat though, considering she could take her bandages off the next day, so said Dr. Kate.

Fool saw her waver and tilt, she was falling! He reached out to try to stop her, thought a spirit about as tall as a pencil couldn't do much, but she recovered and continued. He heaved a sigh of relief and kept watching.

Sora heard a knock at the door and stopped right in the middle of her jump, making her lose her balance. She began to panic trying to hide the beam from view, thought she didn't really know how well she did so she just left it and rushed to change her clothes.

"Coming!" She called pulling a longer sleeved shirt over her practice shirt. There was another knock as she struggled to put on a pair of jeans. She finally managed to button them and ran in the direction of the knock, holding her hands out in front of her to she didn't run into anything but she still managed to stub her toe, albeit painfully, on the corner of the counter. Leon was earlier than she expected. There was more knocking.

"Just a second!" she called as she straightened out her hair from the bird's nest it probably looked like at the moment. She heard a sound of what she thought was approval from Fool and found the doorknob.

She could feel the warmth of the sunlight and was a little surprised that she wasn't standing in the shadow of the very tall visitor she was expecting. "Hello?"

"SORA!" She heard as something crashed into her, actually two something's, knocking her to the floor.

"Ohmygod Sora! We were so worried!" She heard a female voice say.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" another said.

"Anna? Mia?" She questioned as her two best friends practically strangled her. "You're back!"

"Yeah!" Mia said. "We come as soon as we heard but the flights were all booked! We had to drive!"

"I'm sorry to make you leave!"

"Well you know, some days you're the bug and some days you're the windshield." Anna said trying to lighten things up with her comedy act; she has gotten a little better.

"I missed you guys!" Sora cried laughing as Fool watched with a small smile on his face.

Leon paced the hallway in front of Kalos's office. He had a lot on his mind. The night before Kalos had already gone home before Leon could get to him, but then again it was almost midnight when he left the stage. He needed to tell him what he found.

He rubbed his red-rimmed eyes and stifled a yawn as he paced. He hadn't gotten much sleep that night; his mind was racing till the early hours of the day. He ran through all the staff over and over in his head. He tried piecing it all together, the odd angle of the fireworks launcher, the timing of the blast, and the torn clothe. The night before he had looked more closely at the cloth, there was a small spot on it. Whatever the spot was, it was dry now and had a brownish sheen to it.

He shook his head in attempts to clear his mind. When the hell was Kalos's meeting going to finish! Just then the door opened and Leon stalked in.

* * *

"No way! You're telling us that Leon, Mr. Grimm Reaper, was here cooking for you for the past week?" Mia was shocked.

Anna continued, "What do you have on him? Does he have some weird fetish you caught wind of?" She wiggled her eyebrows, which only caused Mia to giggle.

"No!" Sora laughed, "He was just being nice."

"Sora, Leon is the kind of guy who causes glaciers to freeze over, I think there's more to it than just 'being nice.'" Anna retorted.

Sora blushed just at the thought of Leon. Then there was a knock on the door. She began to get up.

"I'll get it!" Mia called, already halfway to the door

She pulled the door open to see an unfamiliar blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty, causing a slight blush to crawl onto her cheeks. "H-hello." She stammered.

"Hey." He said flashing her a bright smile. "Is Sora here?"

The question brought Mia back from her thoughts, "oh yeah, just come right in," she smiled.

"Sora!" He called.

"Billy!" She recognized his voice smiling, she had another visitor. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh I just thought I'd make a delivery." He pulled a box out from behind him. He had brought cake.

Just then Anna looked up and saw a familiar expression on the blonde's face and it hit her. "Oh look at the time, Mia I think its time for us to go…"

"Why?" She looked and saw Anna's face. "Oh, right we still have to go greet Miss Layla and congratulate her."

"Oh but you guys just got here!" Sora whined.

"We'll come back soon, but we need to go."

"Oh, okay, I'll see you then." Sora smiled to them again and heard the door close.

Anna remembered that expression, it was the same she had on her own face, not to long ago, the face she only showed Dio.

Sora just sat there listening to the sounds as Billy moved around her apartment. He was looking for dishes for the cake he brought.

"Thank you." She said as he placed a plate in her hands.

"You're welcome, I just thought I'd bring something sweet for an even sweeter girl." He said cheerily, as Sora's cheeks turned pink.

"S-so," she stammered, Billy had that effect on a lot of people, "what brings you here?"

"I thought you could've used a little pick-me-up, but your friends seemed to have done a good job. It's good to see you smiling more." He added.

"Well it's kinda hard not to with all this company, Anna, Mia, May's been too busy with the show an all, you, Leon…"

"So Mr. Oswald's been here?" He asked a little stiffly, setting down another plate on the coffee table with a soft clink.

Fool was watching from a corner of the room and sensed a little tension coming from Mr. Tall, Blonde and beautiful.

"Yes, he's been helping me out since I can't really do things like I did before the accident." Sora seemed to be saddened a little at the mention of her accident. Billy seemed to stiffen even more at the mention of Leon.

"Well that's not important right now," he said, changing the subject, "I'm just glad you're feeling well." He sat down next to her and they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they ate some cake.

Sora listened to the sounds of the room as she ate, the soft hum of the air-conditioning, the ticking of the clock, the clinking of forks on plates, and the soft sound of their breathing. Then there was a rustle as Billy shifted on the couch.

"Sora," he broke the silence.

"Hmm?" She mumbled turning in his direction.

"You have something on your mouth." He chuckled.

"Ah!" She covered her mouth, "How embarrassing."

"Heh- its okay," he brought her hand down, "I think it's cute." He wiped the corner of her mouth, staring as he did so.

Fool's eyes shot open as realization hit him.

Sora's cheeks blushed ten shades of red and froze; she felt the couch move as Billy shifted again on the couch.

She could feel him lean closer, his warm breath on her cheek, she didn't move. He continued to lean closer, his face only centimeters from hers, eyes closed.

Sora's breath caught in her throat as the distance closed even more.

The clock chimed sounding loud as a church bell in the silence of her apartment.

Sora gasped and pulled away. "OH! Is it really that late? I think its time for you to go, Billy, I need to get up bright and early in the morning!" She stammered as she rose to her feet. "Thank you for the cake!"

"No problem, you can call me anytime, Sora." He said smoothly as he glided to the door. "See you soon, Sora." But there was something in the way he said her name that made her blush even more.

When the door shut Sora sunk to the floor as realization hit her like a ton of bricks…

She almost kissed Billy!

* * *

Sora had a restless night full of tossing and turning until she just couldn't take it anymore and began to take it out on herself by exercising. She tried pushups to clear her mind and focused on counting.

After her practice routine Sora decided she may as well get ready for the day. She had to wash her hair separately than in the shower so she didn't get her bandages wet, but today she could finally take them off and hopefully go back to the stage where she belonged.

She dressed herself in clothes that Fool had helped her pick; at least she knew she matched to some extent, swaying a little as she did so; she was feeling a little dizzy but decided to ignore it. Leon hadn't gone over the day before so she wasn't sure about today either, but she tried not to get her hopes up. She decided to get herself a bowl of cereal for breakfast as she waited for the call from Dr. Kate.

* * *

Layla breathed slowly as the Doctor spread cold jelly over her slightly expanding belly. Yuri held her hand as they waited to see the first pictures of their unborn child. Her anxiousness made her breathing uneven, making the doctor ask her for the third time to try to relax.

The machine hummed as the picture began to materialize. There was some movement and then they saw it. Just a small bundle, not much to see but it was enough to bring a few tears to Layla's eyes. She turned to look at her husband.

Yuri's eyes had become waterfalls as he looked at the ultrasound.

"Don't cry!" Layla almost shouted. "You're going to make me cry!" But it was too late; the tears were already running down her face.

"Honey." He said embracing his bawling wife.

"This is all your fault!" She laughed and cried at the same time, their happiness was just overwhelming, the doctor smiled at the loving parents-to-be.

* * *

Leon walked up the stairs to Sora's room, groceries in hand. He wondered how she did without him the day before but she was probably fine, they had never really spent much time together before so things must have felt a little more normal for her. He felt the warm breeze tussle his hair, which was in a ponytail at the moment and wondered what had possessed him to wear black on a day hot as it was, but then again he always wore black. He knocked on the door.

"Coming!" He heard her say along with some footsteps. He chuckled at the muffled "ow" that came from the other side of the door as Sora stubbed her toe, yet again, on the what he assumed was the counter. The door swung opened to a disheveled Sora with her hair still a little wet from her shower, bandages over her eyes and a curious smile on her face; she looked a little flushed.

"Hello." He said politely and had to suppress another chuckle as he saw her face light up.

"Leon!" She burst. "You came! I thought you might have been busy today."

"No, I had nothing today and thought I would come and check up on you, make sure you didn't burn down you're apartment." He replied and saw Sora scrunch her eyebrows.

"Well, come in, and as you can see, I haven't burned down the place… though I was thinking about cooking lunch." She teased, trying to get a reaction.

"Allow me," he said politely and set to work as Sora sat down on the couch. She listened to him cut something and then heard the sound of something frying. Her nose was attacked by a delicious smell a little while later and she began to wonder what he was making.

She heard something odd. She tried to tune everything else out and heard it. Leon Oswald, the Leon Oswald was in her kitchen, cooking, and humming! She couldn't help but laugh.

"What is it?" He asked, curious as to why she just started laughing out of the blue.

"Nothing!" She snorted as she laughed causing her to laugh even harder.

"You will not tell me?" He questioned.

"Nope!" She said defiantly.

"Not even if I say please?" He smirked at her stubbornness.

"Nope!"

"Very well, I shall find out eventually…" he left off.

"What do you mean?" She asked carefully.

"I have my ways, Miss Naegino." He said confidently as she looked a little nervous. "Lunch is ready." He added, much to her comfort.

"It smells delicious!" She jumped. "I can't wait to ea-" there was a pause and a thump.

Leon looked up to see why she suddenly stopped; she had probably kicked the table again. All he saw was her lying on the floor, forehead covered in sweat.

* * *

Sora moaned and turned over in her sleep. Leon just sat there and watched her. People would think he was a creep or something, watching his partner sleep. He was worried though, the funny think was only she could worry him like this, and he didn't even know why. He thought back to about a few hours earlier.

Leon had turned around to see why he heard a thump, thinking that Sora only kicked the coffee table, but she was passed out on the floor for no apparent reason, which caused him to panic.

"Sora!" He had yelled, holding her face in his hands. "Sora open your eyes! Look at me!" he was tapping her cheeks lightly trying to get a reaction.

She was burning up in his hands, body drenched in sweat. The fever was probably the reason she passed out, he found out after putting her in bed and immediately calling Dr. Kate. He was a little relieved that it was only a fever; maybe she was overworking herself, but how? She was supposed to be resting.

The compress he placed on her forehead had grown warm; he took it and went to rinse it in cold water as Fool watched.

"What has she been doing?" Leon asked him with a serious look.

Fool started, trying to think of something to say. "N-nothing." He said, averting his eyes.

"You are lying to me, Fool."

"No I am not!" He cried in self-defense, shimmering and then he was gone. Leon had scared him away.

"Leon?" Sora whispered softly as he replaced the cold compress.

"How are you feeling?" He asked just as softly.

"Better, but why am I in bed?" She asked confused.

"You had a fever and fainted, you need to rest but it seems that your fever has gone down." He said feeling her forehead, but that might have been because of the compress.

She blushed a little at the thought of Leon carrying her, but he had held her many times before during performances, this time it was different.

"I spoke to Dr. Kate." He added

"Really? What did she say?" Sora asked eagerly.

"She said that you need to rest, and we can also remove your bandages." He smiled a little at the reaction he got from the last statement.

"Really! Let's take them off then!" She bounced like an excited child.

"Alright, alright!" He chuckled, "let me get some scissors."

He came back with a small pair of scissors in his hand. He leaned in close so as not to cut her.

"Just don't cut my hair, okay?" She giggled nervously as she could feel his breath on her face. She suddenly remembered the previous night with Billy, making her blush even more.

Leon saw here face redden a little, thinking it was due to their closeness. He gently pushed her hair aside and slid the scissors under the first layer of the bandage. Sora let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

She could feel his large, yet gentle, hands moving as he unwrapped the bandages. She was anxious, thinking of what her face looked like, she had no idea since they weren't able to take off the bandages for fear of infection. She would need to have a look once the bandages were off.

Leon worked extra gently as he got down to the last layer of the bandages, he could see Sora inhale as he pulled the last layer. His hand brushed against the smooth skin of her face. Her eyes were still closed but he could see a pink line running through her right eyebrow, which he guessed was a scar. Her skin looked pale apart from the redness and dark circles around her eyes.

He was suddenly furious at the thought that somebody would intentionally harm Sora, Scarring her even. His hands were in fists so tight his knuckles turned white, shaking slightly. If he ever got his hands on the person at fault…

"It feels cold." She said lightly.

Leon started from his thoughts. "I'd imagine, your eyes have been covered for almost two weeks."

She opened her eyes and gasped… She saw nothing.

Leon saw something and leaned in very close, causing Sora to start from the sudden movement. Her eyes were clouded over.

* * *

"… But something is just not right." Sora heard Leon say into the phone.

"Yes I understand that there could have been complications but she still cannot see anything!" He almost shouted.

Sora sat in silence as Leon spoke to Dr. Kate on the phone. She should have been able to see by now, even if it was a little blurry but there was nothing. She tried rubbing her eyes and only ended up irritating them.

"Alright, I will make sure she goes in tomorrow, thank you Doctor. Good-bye." He hung up the phone and turned to Sora. "I will bring you to see Doctor Kate tomorrow, she will give you a checkup and we'll see from there."

Sora's throat started to hurt and her nose stung; a sign that she was about to cry.

"I'm tired." She said softly. "I think I'll go to bed now, thank you Leon."

"Alright, get some rest, I will pick you up at noon tomorrow." He answered. "Goodnight Sora."

"Goodnight Leon." She called softly, hoping he didn't hear her voice crack. She heard the door close and moved to lock it behind him, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

* * *

Leon looked up at the night sky on his way home, counting stars it seemed. He could hear the disappointment in Sora's voice as he left. He thought back a little.

_"I can't see anything." She had whispered in a gasp._

_"Pardon?" He thought he misheard._

_"Leon, I can't see!" She began to panic._

Dr. Kate had said that there may have been complications while she was healing or that maybe her eyes just needed a little more time to clear up.

He tried to think of what might have happened when he arrived at his apartment.

He tried to place his key in the lock when the doorknob made a strange sound. He took it in his hand and it turned easily, he was sure he had locked it when he left. His apartment was dark and smelled strange when he walked in.

He reached for the light switch.

The sight shocked him, almost giving him a heart attack. His apartment was in chaos. The doorknob was broken on the inside and looked as though it had been hit with a lot of force. His dishes were shattered all over the floor, making it a hazard to walk on. His furniture had been sliced, down bursting from the lacerations, which had to have been made by something extremely sharp considering they were made from a very strong leather.

The few picture frames dawning the walls were now shattered on the floor, even the picture of his beloved late sister Sophie. His laptop looked as though somebody had kicked the screen, the glass spider-webbing from the inside. He rushed to his bedroom, heart pounding.

His bed had been sliced the same way the other furniture had, but more violently still. His clothing, which was normally neatly sorted in his closet and dresser, was torn and strewn all over the place. The mirror in his bathroom had been shattered, littering the place with even more broken glass. His shampoo, soap, and toothpaste all looked like they exploded all over the room.

He slowly walked back into the living room, taking in all the carnage when he saw something written on the wall.

_Stay away from her!_ Was all it said, and near the message was the reason his apartment smelled odd.

There, on the floor, under the message carved into the wall, was a single… purple… rose.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The blue lights flashed as Ken approached the dorms after the night's final show. The show was successful, eliciting a standing ovation from the crowd as he and May took their final bows for the night. He had walked her home himself and saw her to the door like a gentleman, even receiving a soft kiss as a goodnight. He didn't know how or when exactly he and May had gotten so close, it just happened and he was glad it did. He still cared for Sora and all, but only as a friend should.

He picked up his pace towards the dorms only to find the place fronted by squad cars. Now why would the police be there at that time of the night? He walked up to one of the officers.

* * *

Leon stood with his poker face in place. He had explained to the police how he had returned from visiting a friend only to find his place in shambles. Having no idea who it could have been and explaining this to the officers, he let them conduct their search. He sat deep in thought. There were many possibilities to who could have done this. Perhaps it was the doing of an old partner or previous lover, though he would rather not get into that now…

He looked up at the police crawling around the perimeter and saw a familiar face speaking to an officer. Ken saw him looking and, ducking under the crime scene tape, walked over to join Leon with a worried look on his face.

"I don't know." He said before Ken could begin to question him also.

"Are you okay?" Was all he asked in return, a mask of concern covered his face.

"I am unharmed." He responded monotonously.

"That's not what I meant," he said seriously, "are you okay?"

Leon looked down at his hands tightly clasped in his lap. He loosened his white-knuckled grip. "Who could it have been?" He said, mostly to himself, in his thick French accent.

"What was that?" Ken asked.

"Nothing," Leon said quietly.

Ken guessed that he was just in shock over the whole situation and decided to let him think for a little while as he walked over to the closest officer to find out what was going on.

"Break-in," the officer said curtly. "Vandalism, and possible attempted assault, but we can't be sure."

"Thank you, officer," Ken replied looking up to the lights in Leon's apartment. "Can I go up?" The blonde-boy asked.

The officer looked Ken over, then, deciding that he wasn't much of a threat, said, "Just don't touch anything."

Ken looked over at Leon who was still just staring at a random spot on the ground, obviously deep in thought, ignoring the silver hair that fell in front of his eyes. Ken walked up the stairs toward the apartment.

The sight made him catch his breath. The place was in ruins, everything was destroyed, pictures, furniture, dishes, the walls were all scratched and marked, he turned and saw the words _Leave her alone_ carved into one of the walls. What's going on? Who did this, and what do they mean _her_?

Then it hit him. Does "her" mean Sora? He would have to think this over more. He walked back out to Leon. He slowly reached out and softly placed a hand on Leon's shoulder, causing him to give a small start, strange for Leon. He looked up, as if surprised to see that Ken was still there.

"Leon, do you need a place to stay?" He asked earnestly and concerned.

Leon scrunched his eyebrows as if he didn't understand. Ken took that as a yes and helped Leon to his feet, leading him to the other end of the dorm building.

* * *

Sora was having a very hard time getting sleep. All she could do was toss and turn, unable to find a comfortable position. She reached up to touch her face just to be sure that the bandage was off, because it wasn't any different than having it on. She lay on her back and just listened to the sounds of the night.

She heard the soft rustling of leaves in the warm summer breeze, the quiet, yet dominant, chirping of crickets, the tossing waves of the ocean. She could feel the breeze, strange, she didn't remember opening a window.

She got up and slowly crept, so she wouldn't fall, towards the window. She brushed her hands against the wall, using it to guide her. The window was wide open. Sora carefully closed the window. Closing the latch to make sure it was locked, she went back to bed, entering a restless, dreamless, sleep.

* * *

Sora awoke with a strange feeling, like she wasn't alone. She listened closely to the sounds again, holding her breath, but everything was silent. She decided to get some more sleep, thinking she was just being silly.

She began to drift off again, when she felt an odd pressure on her stomach and a sudden chill. Why was her belly exposed? She felt something shift on her bed and her shirt move up a little more.

She bolted upright, hitting her head, hard I might at, against something that shouldn't be there. She heard a sharp intake of breath and it hit her… Somebody was in her room!

She fell off her bed and tried to scream but a strong arm clamped over her mouth. She did the only thing she could and bit down, sinking her teeth into soft flesh.

Howling in pain, the intruder released her, and she spat blood, not realizing how hard she had actually bitten them.

She tried running to her door, but it was hard not to run into anything, considering she couldn't actually see anything. A hand clamped onto her wrist with enough force to fell like it would snap.

"HELP!" She screamed, hoping somebody would hear her, struggling against the arms which wound their way around her again, "Somebody please!"

"HELP!" She was being dragged back toward her room. She kicked and thrashed but the person knew how she moved and avoided her attacks.

"LEON!" She screamed, wishing he were there now, but knowing he wouldn't come, even so his name was the one that crossed her lips. "Leon!" She cried, tears running from her unseeing eyes.

She was thrown down to the floor when somebody came banging at the door. Whoever the intruder was used their full weight to hold her down, body flush against hers. The pressure made it hard to breathe; the hand over her mouth didn't help much either. She struggled to get free, biting the hand that covered her mouth, enticing a pained grunt from the intruder.

"SORA! ARE YOU OKAY?" Yelled a familiar voice. "Answer me!"

"May!" She screamed back. "There's somebody here!"

She heard the door rattle on its hinges as May thrust her full weight upon it. The intruder froze at the thought of getting caught. The hands pinning Sora down were suddenly gone and she felt cold air in the absence of the weight that held her down just seconds before. She heard the door crash back against the wall, the doorknob rolling uselessly on the floor.

"Sora!" She screeched, winded, as she burst in, running in between the two rooms in case the intruder was still there. When May cooled off enough to see the intruder was gone, she saw Sora on the floor, shocked.

"Oh my god! Are you okay?" She crouched down near her.

Sora didn't say anything, she didn't have to, the tears running down her face said it all.

May put her hand on Sora's shoulder, Sora began to sob, loudly, as she leaned against May.

May put her arms around Sora's shuddering shoulders as she cried it out, the shock wearing off, as she stayed there to comfort her for the remainder of the long and restless night.

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._ Ken rolled over groggily to see he alarm clock, which read 6:15, time to get up. Ken got up early almost every morning, whether he was working or not, today was no exception, even after the events of the previous night. He got up sluggishly and changed into his workout clothes, ready for a morning jog.

He walked out of his room more quietly than usual, so he wouldn't wake his unexpected guest. Ken tiptoed as silently as he could through the living room of his apartment, where Leon Oswald lay sprawled, shirtless, across his couch. Under normal circumstances this would seem normal, as though they were just friends who had a late night and one couldn't go home, but under actual circumstances this was a friend helping another in need.

Ken looked over at his fellow performer sleeping on his couch, Leon Oswald, of all people, was sleeping on his couch. And he slept motionlessly and silently, almost stoically, not surrendering any information on whether he dreamt or was just deep in sleep, whether he was restless or not.

* * *

Ken went out for his jog, hoping, with a small smile on his face, to possibly meet up with May Wong along the way.

Looks like May didn't go jogging this morning, Ken thought as he bounded up the steps to her small dorm apartment, coffees in one hand, and breakfast in the other. He knocked on her door and waited. There was no answer, he knocked again. Still no answer. She must have been out. Maybe he just missed her while he was out jogging.

I should go and see Sora, he thought and looked at his watch, 7:06, and thought better of it, she must've still been in bed. But he didn't know that on normal days Sora would have been up at about 5:30, even earlier than him, but this day she actually was in bed, exhausted.

He was about to turn and leave, thinking he'd bring May her coffee later, when Sora's door opened and May looked out. She was even closer to home than he thought. She was only wearing a long t-shirt, probably one of his that he might have left at her place.

"Hey Ken," She said quietly, afraid to wake Sora (I know its hard to believe that May Wong was being quiet). "Sorry I couldn't make it out, this morning."

"No, that's fine, I brought you coffee," he said handing her coffee to her, "and breakfast," handing her the small bag he had in his other hand.

"Thanks," she said looking into the bag with a small smile on her face. "Sora's sleeping," she told him when he looked at the door she came out of.

"What were you doing there so early?" He asked, honestly curious.

"There was a little, um, situation, last night and she didn't want to be left alone." She said not looking him in the eye, this caused him to worry.

"Situation? What do you mean situation?" He asked. She looked away, silent.

"May?" She still wouldn't look at him. He gently turned her face to see him, "What happened?"

She looked at him straight in the eye; he saw a little fear in her eyes, "May, you can tell me." He said gently.

She looked him in the eye and said quietly, "Sora was attacked last night."

* * *

Leon slowly opened his eyes to a familiar, yet unfamiliar, dim room. He opened his eyes a little wider and looked around. He saw why the room looked so familiar, it was almost identical to his, only furnished differently, he was in an apartment in the same dorm building as his.

He stretched out, arching his back against the couch, cracking it in a few places, which felt really good. His feet hung over the side; his long silver hair was splayed over the couch. He thought back to the previous night, trying to remember how he came to be in a strange and unfamiliar apartment.

He vaguely remembered being led there late the night before. He vaguely remembered feeling fear and shock as he walked through his ransacked apartment, and he vaguely remembered a friend being there to help, giving him a place to stay.

He sat up and looked around at the apartment surrounding him. He studied the family photos dawning the walls, the objects lining shelves, which would have dawned books in his own apartment. This apartment felt more comfortable, more livable than his, this apartment felt friendly, like those families whose doors are always open to those who wish to visit.

He wished to thank Ken for allowing him to stay the night but noticed that he was gone. Leon assumed he had gone out to practice or some other matter of the sort. He looked to the clock, which now read 8:23 and decided he'd slept long enough. He got up from the couch and folded the blanket he used the night before and searched for his shirt. Leon had slept in his jeans but was too exhausted the night before to notice. He found his black shirt lying on the floor in front of the couch and put it on. Tying back his long hair with a rubber band, he wrote a note thanking Ken and left the apartment, he had told Sora that he would take her to see Dr. Kate that day and thought the earlier they go the faster they could straighten out her situation and he could find himself a new apartment.

He set out into the bright morning and felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

"Hello?" He answered, seeing that the caller was Kalos.

"Leon," Kalos said without much of a greeting, "I need you to come see me immediately in my office." He said urgently.

Leon thought and decided that if what Kalos wanted to talk about was so urgent that it couldn't wait till he went to the stage later than he'd better go and bring Sora a little bit later. "Okay, I am on my way." He answered, changing course to the stage.

* * *

Layla Hamilton was restless. She could think of nothing to do. To put it frankly, she was bored. Her husband, Yuri Killian, wasn't home. He had gone out to play a few rounds of golf with her father as sort of a father-son-in-law bonding time, so she was alone.

"I need to get out of here." She thought out loud, her boredom taking over, she picked up her car keys and purse and walked out the door.

The Cape Mary Shopping District had almost anything you could think of. From shoes, to dresses, to boats, it had it all, so when Layla went shopping, she was hardly bored. She had just walked out of Chanel with a new purse and some gifts for a few of her friends when she saw it.

She saw the small clothing, the gleaming wood bars of the cribs, she could almost see the softness of the blankets, and right in front of her was the mannequin.

Dawning the mannequin was just a simple white dress. The length was to just below the knees with small frills at the hem. There was a short line of about 3 buttons down the center of the chest, and thin white straps, but what really caught her eye was the shape of the mannequin. She was swollen at the midsection.

In the place of the mannequin's nonexistent head, Layla saw her own face and imagined herself sitting in that very dress, rocking in a chair on a sunny day, cooing to her swollen belly. Her hand moved to her only very slightly expanding belly and smiled, with small tears in her eyes. She kept walking.

* * *

"Really? What do you mean Leon's place was ransacked?" May asked quietly after hearing Ken's view on the previous night.

"It was a total mess, May, the place was barely recognizable. Everything was broken. The question is who did it." He answered.

"I don't know, but who would do it? I mean I get that Leon isn't the friendliest person around but I didn't think he was so bad that somebody would do this, you know?" She added, she couldn't remember Leon pissing anyone off that much other than Yuri but they were on friendly terms now.

"Wait," Ken said, a thought coming to him, "you said Sora was attacked last night, what time?"

"Around 2 a.m., why?" She looked at him with eyebrows creased questioningly.

"Leon got home and found his place wrecked around 12:30, do you think it might have been the same guy?" He asked, mostly to himself.

"Same guy as what?" May asked, not following.

"The same guy that attacked Sora." He explained, then May realized that it could very well be connected.

"May?" Sora's voice came quietly from the other room. She shot a look at Ken that said he'd better shut up.

"Yeah?" May called back.

"What time is it?" She asked softly.

"Almost 10, you okay?" She answered.

"Yeah, I'm fine, is somebody else here?" She wondered.

"Ken is."

"Sorry for intruding." He called to her.

"Its fine," she called back, "May, thanks for staying." She said as she walked into the room, her eyes clouded over and looking off into space, bruises visible on her wrist.

"Are you hungry?" Ken asked in a cheery voice.

"A little."

"Here, I brought breakfast." He set a place for her as she sat down and began to eat.

"Anna and Mia went back to circus camp." Ken said.

"They had to come back on such short notice, Anna must have missed Dio." Sora said, happy they were having a good time at circus camp.

May, thinking Sora was scared to be alone, looked to Ken and said, "I don't think I'll go to practice today."

"No May you should go," Sora said, May normally wouldn't skip practice for anything. "I don't want you to feel like you have to stay"

"Are you sure?" She asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine, I've stayed alone before and I can do it now." She said, sounding confident that she'd be fine. "As a matter of fact, shouldn't you be there now?"

"You're right," Ken said, "we should go." He looked at her, saying I think she wants to be alone.

"Well okay, I'll see you later, Sora." May said as she got up.

"Bye." Sora said as they walked out the door. She'd be fine, Fool was watching over her, after all.

* * *

Kalos sat behind a big mahogany desk in his office. The late morning light was almost the only lighting used as it came through the big picture window behind him, but Kalos had more to think about than the view from the window. The week before Leon had come into his office, talking about the accident involving Sora, hinting that it wasn't an accident after all, but now something has come to Kalos. Something he thought Leon should know.

There was a knock at the door, followed by a very tall man with silver hair down to his waist.

"Leon," Kalos said, "I'm glad you could make it, sorry to have to call you in like this."

"What did you want to see me about?" He asked, cutting right to the point.

"I can see that you would rather be someplace else but I think you should sit down, have some coffee, you look beat." Kalos speculated.

"I did not sleep well." The Frenchman said curtly, eyeing the coffee set out on the table in front of him. Looks like Kalos liked to have some ready for guests in his office. "What did you want to tell me?" He needed to bring Sora to see the doctor.

"Last week you came to see me with a rag in your hand, raving about the fireworks launcher being deliberately placed so it faced the stage." Leon could see what he was getting at, Kalos didn't believe him.

"I called you in to tell you that we saw it being done." This made Leon look up in slight shock.

"You know who it is?" He asked quickly.

"No," Kalos answered almost reluctantly. "We watched the security tapes of the rafters before the show and saw a shadow."

"A shadow?" Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Well more of a figure. We could see what he was doing, but not who it was." Kalos answered looking serious.

"He? So it was a man?" Leon asked, the thought that it was a woman had crossed his mind, that Sora was attacked out of jealousy, but that didn't seem so much the case now.

"You could tell by the tall and lanky build, wide shoulders and such that this was a man." Kalos said.

"So this was no accident?" Leon questioned, mostly speaking to himself.

"This was no accident," Kalos agreed, "but the question is 'why?'"

Leon could think of no reason why somebody would deliberately try to hurt Sora. She would never to anything to hurt somebody. Leon couldn't even think of her uttering a mean word, let alone cause somebody to do this.

Then a thought struck him.

"This could have killed her." Leon said to himself, ice running through his veins.

"This could have killed you." Kalos said seriously.

"What?" Leon said to Kalos this time, looking him in the eye.

"Don't you remember?" Kalos asked. "You and Sora switched sides that performance. Just changing things up a bit, I think."

"We need to find out who did this. They could hurt someone else." Leon stated.

"Maybe we should-" Kalos was interrupted by a small knock at the door. "Come in." He called, putting they're conversation on halt.

"Am I interrupting?" Layla said poking her head in.

"No, can I help you with something?" Kalos answered.

"I was just looking for Sarah, I have a gift for her." Layla said. Seeing Leon she said, "Oh hello Leon, is Sora at home?"

"Yes," he looked at Kalos, "I was supposed to take her to the doctor today, can we continue this later?" He asked as he stood to leave.

"I can take her." Layla offered.

"Are you certain?" Leon asked, not wanting to cause her trouble.

"I have to go for a checkup anyways, besides I wanted to give Sora something anyway, so don't worry about it." Layla said waving it off.

"Why thank you, Layla." Kalos said curtly. "That's very nice of you."

"No problem." She looked at her watch. "Oh shit! I've got to leave now if I want to pick up Sora and be back in time." She saw their shocked faces at her cursing and said, "what you never saw a girl swear before?" As she left with a small grin on her face.

"As I was saying," Kalos continued.

* * *

"Come in." Sora called in response to the knock at her door. She was sitting on the floor of her living room doing some stretches to a little bit of classical music, she found it relaxing. She heard the door open and listened to the footsteps, secretly and unconsciously hoping it was Leon. The footsteps were too light to be Leon, besides the person was wearing heals, and she couldn't imagine Leon, all 6 feet 2 inches of him, in stilettos.

"Hey Sora." Said a voice she hadn't heard in a while.

"Miss Layla!" Sora jumped up and tried to move in the direction of the door, tripping over a cushion on her way, feeling a pair of arms steady her. "I'm so sorry!" She cried.

"It's fine, Sora." Layla laughed. "No harm done."

"How are you?" Sora said, calming down some, sitting down on the couch.

"Great, you?" Layla asked politely.

Sora uttered a small, "fine" and Layla could immediately see something was wrong. She had worked with Sora, partnered with her, watched her grow to become the Kaleido Star she was today, and knew her enough to see when she was lying.

"Sora, what's wrong?" She asked, suddenly serious, seeing right through Sora's façade.

"Nothing." She answered running her hand through her hair. Layla noticed a few dark spots on her wrist and was about to ask when she saw the clock again.

"Oh, Sora we've got to go." She said.

"Go where?" Sora was clearly confused.

"To the hospital, I'm taking you to see Dr. Kate." Layla answered.

"I thought Leon was." She said.

"He was a little busy talking with Kalos and I said I could bring you, I have to go for a checkup anyways so it was no problem." She reached into one of her shopping bags and handed Sora a pair of sunglasses. "I thought you might like these."

Sora's eyes lit up as she felt what had been placed in her hands. "Oh thank you!" She said with a smile.

"Let's go." Layla said, taking Sora by the arm and leading her out of the apartment and into her car.

* * *

It was later in the evening when Leon finally left Kalos's office. He was only slightly surprised to see that it was dark outside. He and Kalos had been discussing what to do about the possible threat to the performers for a good part of the day, Kalos mostly just said to try not to go too many places alone and would tell the rest of the staff that. Kalos would try to tell them in a way so they wouldn't panic. He almost suggested one of the worst possible things, temporarily shutting down the stage.

He sighed as he looked at his watch and saw that it was nearly 9:30 and thought he might drop by to visit Sora, he had a feeling that she was still awake. Her dorm was not far from the main building and was walking distance so Leon started in that direction.

It was eerily quiet that night, causing him to be as cautious as he could, every sound sounded as though it was being shouted through a loudspeaker in his tension. This was unlike him, feeling insecure and unsafe alone, all because somebody had been in his apartment, his own personal space. He would not tell Sora such a thing though, not even the slightest hint. She had enough to worry about without having to worry about him.

Her dorm was in sight; he picked up his pace a bit. There was a small sound from behind him, causing him to stop. He turned to see what was behind him and was greeted by silence. He must have been losing his mind because, as far as he knew, there was nothing there.

He walked up the steps quickly, hoping to get out of the open, Kalos's words earlier had made him paranoid, or maybe he just wanted to see Sora, his pride would let him admit to neither of these.

He came up in front of her door and gave a light knock, hoping he wouldn't wake her in the off chance that she actually was asleep. He heard something crash.

"Sora?" He called loudly, thinking that she had just knocked something over again. There was another crash, this one louder.

"Sora!" He yelled louder, reaching for the doorknob, which turned easily under his hand. She must have forgotten to lock it. He quickly opened the door and stepped in. It didn't look as though she had broken anything. There was another crash and thump from her bedroom. He put his ear to the door.

"Rah!" crash.

He opened the door. She was standing there breathing heavily, the room a disaster around her. She felt around her night table and found the lamp, heaving it with a crash at the wall opposite of her with a yell, tears streaming down her face.

"Sora stop!" He said loudly, grabbing her by the wrists.

"No!" She cried, struggling to break free, she was going to hurt herself.

"Sora." He said, pulling her into his arms so she couldn't move. He found this a successful way to restrain her, also it didn't hurt to have her that close to him.

"Leon?" She asked in a shaky voice, no longer struggling, she almost relaxed against him.

He pulled back and asked her, "What's wrong? Why are you doing this?" He sat her down on the bed.

"I can't anymore." She said softly, head down, hands clasped tightly in her lap.

"Can't what?" He asked gently, not wanting her to start throwing things again.

"I just can't. She said I couldn't. Not without…" she stopped.

"Sora, what can't you do? You need to tell me." He said more sternly, finding that gentleness wasn't working so good at the moment.

She tried to face him. "See," she said. "I can't see. She said there was an infection and I won't heal. Dr. Kate said I wouldn't be able to, not unless they worked on me." She had tears running down her face.

"What do you mean, 'work on you'?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"She said I need surgery." Sora whispered. "But the chances of it actually working aren't good, she said there was a huge chance of infection and I might never be able to see again, but the only chance is if they work."

Leon stayed silent. He had always thought that Sora was a strong girl, starting from the training he had put her through, maybe even before that, but he could never imagine what she was going through. She had just snapped.

"Why don't you get the surgery?" he asked.

"The infection could spread and get worse." She was almost eerily calm now, her voice barely above a whisper.

"But there is a chance it could get better." He offered, trying to make her feel even just a little better.

"And what if it doesn't?" She said more loudly. "What if I can never see again? If I can never perform?" She was crying again. "I'll have to leave, and so will you. You'll need a new partner and you'll leave me to search for one."

He put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. That's right, Leon Oswald was actually trying to comfort somebody, not just anybody but his own partner whom he normally treats harsher than others.

"I won't leave." He said softly.

"Yes you will." She argued. "I'll be of no use to you, I'll only hold you back."

"Sora, you are my only partner and I won't leave you." He said softly, pulling her closer to him.

"Why?" She asked.

"Because I believe that you will overcome this. You are the only person who could be my partner."

"You're lying!" She cried, pulling away, thinking he was only saying it without meaning a word of it. She didn't believe him, why would he stay with somebody who was of no use? She would be dropped like all his former partners. Her mind was working against her at the time. "You're going to leave just like everybody else will, I'll have to go back to Japan, never see anyone aga-"

She was cut off by Leon's lips. He had gently taken her face in his hands a possessively took her mouth with his. One kiss gently slid into another as they sat closely together in the now quiet room. Her hands moved to his neck and tangled in his hair, his gently caressed her cheeks. She had no idea of how long he had wanted to hold her like this, no idea how long he's wanted _her_. He had no idea how she wondered about what he thought of her, or how long she's thought of him.

They slowly pulled apart, their breath lost somewhere between them. The only sound in the room was their breathing; Fool was nowhere to be found.

Leon stared at Sora for a moment before taking her into his arms.

"I will stay by you." He softly whispered. "Even if you can't see, even if you can't perform, even if you can't stay, I won't leave you, not now, not ever." He stroked her soft purple hair. And the biggest thing was, she believed him, new tears flowing from her eyes.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and relaxed against him. Her breathing slowed and evened out as she calmed down. For the first time in a while, she felt safe.

Leon just watched her, listening to the sound of her breathing. He held her in his arms as he drifted off into a much-needed sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **So sorry for the wait! i didn't mean to take a month to update! please don't hate me! T-T

Chapter 11

Knock, Knock.

"Come in." Kalos called from behind his desk, he was looking through the possibilities for the next season's performances, he was stuck between _Wicked, Bonnie and Clyde,_ and _The Phantom of the Opera_, unsure if they were good choices or not, he knew they were very successful on Broadway.

He didn't look up as a tall blonde employee who had just arrived entered his office.

"Hey Kalos." Billy called as he walked in, duffel bag over his shoulder and surprisingly wearing a long sleeved shirt in the summer heat. "I'm back." He smiled.

"Hello Billy how was Santa Barbara?" Kalos inquired. Billy had gone to Santa Barbara to visit with family over the past week and a half.

"Oh you know, same old sunny weather, warm wind, grape vines growing up the side of the house. My parents were happy to see me."

"I'd imagine, you haven't gone in a while, have you?" Kalos asked, not really caring, just as a formality.

"Nah, it's been a while but I'm glad to be back. Anything new happening?" He asked.

"Well there are a few things you should know about, have a seat." He wasn't asking.

Billy took a seat on one of the couches in the office. "What's up Boss?"

"I've told the performers and staff they should not be walking home alone after dark." Kalos looked up at him.

"Why?" Billy's eyebrows furrowed.

"You see, about two days ago…"

* * *

The sun shone into the room, casting a soft yellow glow across the place, giving it a warm feel.

Leon's eyes fluttered open to unfamiliar surroundings, yet again. He saw that the floor was home to a, now broken, lamp, a few cracked picture frames, some clothes, and something that looked like a small homemade balance beam.

He felt something stir and looked down to see soft purple hair. Sora was still sleeping, pillowed against his chest. She looked so calm, so serene in sleep, without a care in the world. He could feel the warmth of her body against his through their sleep-wrinkled clothes. He could feel her soft breath like a warm summer breeze.

A small smile played at the corner of his mouth as he relaxed, his arm around her, as if to keep her warm and safe. She lightly stirred under his hand, he almost removed it, thinking she was waking up, but she only slightly moved, relaxing into his warmth.

He saw Fool materialize in the far corner of the room and put a finger to his lips, telling him to be silent. Fool only smiled and faded away again. He seemed to be missing a lot lately, probably busy spying on the girls in the dorm.

He let himself relax again and drift off into a light sleep.

* * *

It was a little later in the day when Leon awoke again. He saw that Sora was still laying in his arms but this time her eyes were open, her brows creased in confusion. She couldn't see him but she sure could feel him. She moved to sit up when Leon first spoke.

"Good morning." He said quietly, still startling her.

"L-Leon!" She stammered. Shocked to find him in her bed. Her memory of the night before was hazy. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I um… well that is-" he struggled to find an answer as he sat up, his cheeks darkened slightly even though the night was completely innocent. She hadn't remembered falling asleep in his arms after crying her heart out, and he never meant to spend the night.

"You see," he began, gaining some composure, "Last night you were distraught about your eyes and I stayed, hoping to comfort you, in the slightest." _Great,_ he thought, _I sound like I was trying to take advantage of her._

She blushed. "T-thank you." She said softly, almost shyly. "I've thought about it a little…" she said.

"Thought about what?" He asked, leaning a little closer to her.

"The surgery." She answered.

"And?"

"Well you had said that with the surgery there was a chance of regaining my sight, even though it was a small one, but without it, there would be no chance." She started.

"Yes." He said remembering their conversation from the previous night.

"I'm going to go." She said with some confidence. "I can't live like this. Always needing others to care for me, troubling everybody, depriving you of a partner, I just can't, and I don't want to leave." She said, meaning more than just stage.

"I'll stay and help you." He answered; he didn't want her to leave either. "We will go see the Doctor today." They needed to consult her about the risks and possible outcomes of the procedure.

She smiled. "Thank you, Leon."

* * *

As Leon and Sora left the apartment, they were unaware of the eyes watching them. The eyes didn't recall seeing the man arrive that morning. The eyes stayed in place until the performers left in a black sports car, belonging to the tall-silver haired one.

The eyes belonged to the one who struck fear into both of them. The intruder moved under the balcony just outside of Sora's bedroom window. With the grace and ease of the performers being watched, the intruder climbed the pipe near the balcony.

The window opened as easily as it had a few nights earlier, the young lady hadn't learned her lesson, and much to the relief of the intruder, there was no need for the unnecessary breaking of windows. The invader crawled into the room having a quick look to make sure the coast was clear, but what the intruder didn't see was the spirit of the stage watching him from the corner of the room.

Fool, of course, had begun standing guard of the apartment since the incidence a few nights earlier. He could not see the intruder's face hidden by a clear mask, which distorted the features.

The spirit, suddenly very serious and enraged, decided he'd done enough standing in the sidelines. Using his powers as spirit of the stage, he thrust the closes object to him, which was a heavy dictionary, into the intruder's feet, making him lose his balance. Like a tree, the intruder fell but recovered with as much grace as a falling person could have. Shocked, the intruder looked around again, thinking something may have been missed in the first look.

Out of the corner of the intruder's eye, there was a glint. They moved closer to the bed where, there on the pillow, was the cause of the glint… a long silver hair, resting on the pillow. Enraged, the intruder spun, knocking over the music box on the bedside table.

There was a knock on the door. Startled, the intruder turned to the window and ran.

Fool needed to find Leon.

* * *

May stood at Sora's door, hoping to invite her out for dinner, when she heard something crash. She knocked louder this time.

"Sora?" She called and was greeted by silence. She reached up to the top of the doorjamb and found the hidden key Sora had put out for her. May thought Sora probably didn't want her to break down the door again. She walked into the empty apartment and had a quick look around, wondering what the crash she heard was.

The apartment was too silent, almost eerily so. May's heart almost stopped when her cell phone rang. She checked the caller ID. It was Layla.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey, May, how are you?" Layla said in a cheery voice through the phone.

"Good, How are you Miss Layla?" May asked politely. She hadn't seen Layla in a while, Yuri was away on business.

"Great, hey listen, I need a huge favor from you." Layla began.

"What do you need?" May asked, her interest peaked.

"I have to go for an ultrasound today and I was wondering if you would go with me?" Layla asked.

May was suddenly excited. "Of course! What time?"

"I'm on my way now, I'm coming to pick you up."

"See you in a few." And they hung up. May, having forgotten what she was there for, went outside to wait for Layla.

* * *

Mia sat at the edge of the stage just staring. She had a sort of creative block in place, unable to think of a new swing design. She looked back over the previous designs. There was the hoop design from the show where Sora stared with Layla, the spinner from when Leon had May and Sora compete, the set from Swan Lake, they were all great, but how could she top them?

She'd ask Anna for help, but she was at Circus Camp with Dio, acting as a guest performer.

She was still lost in thought when she heard the door open behind her casting some light onto part of the dim stage, she turned to see Mr. Tall Blonde and Beautiful, who had been gone to Santa Barbara for the past almost two weeks, sauntering up to the stage.

She looked back down at her sketches, ignoring him. She thought he was working and didn't want to disturb him. Much to her surprise, he came and sat down right next to her.

Looking over her shoulder at the sketchbook in her lap, Billy asked "Watcha doing?"

"Thinking." She replied curtly.

"About what?" He continued.

"Swings." She said looking up at the trapeze.

"Swings?" He furrowed his brow, almost like he was laughing at her.

"Swing designs actually." She said looking at him, "for a new show."

"What did you have in mind?" He asked curiously.

"That's the problem," She said, "nothing."

"You know," He started, getting up from his seat, "you just need a little inspiration." He walked off the stage.

She just sat and watched him walk out, wondering what he was there for anyways.

She got back to thinking and just staring at her sketchpad, pencil at the ready, waiting for it to just magically start drawing on its own.

She heard the door open again as Billy walked back in dragging a wagon typed thing behind him. He was also rolling what looked like a giant hoop in front of him.

He took three juggling pins out of the wagon and threw them into the air. Catching them and releasing one-by-one, he began to juggle them with practiced skill. He threw one from under his leg and caught it behind his back. He tossed it back over his shoulder and caught it in front, throwing all three of them higher, spinning and catching them at the tips of his fingers, balancing them each on a finger. He smiled brightly as Mia giggled and applauded.

He took a mock bow, "Thank you, thank you. I'm hear all week!"

This time he took the Diablo and began spinning it with almost expert skill. He spun one, then two, then three, yet again juggling. He spun and jumped in a joyful dance. In a grand finale, he threw the as high as he could and did a backwards layout, catching one, two behind his back, and the third under his leg.

Mia couldn't help but smile in response to his beaming face.

This time he reached for the giant hoop. He spun it on one arm, then placed it standing on the ground and made it spin, as it slowed down he stepped into it, catching the momentum of the spin and standing in it. He began to turn like a wheel and roll around the stage, spinning and laughing, and Mia could see that he was having fun. Then it hit her.

"THAT'S IT!" She shrieked, scaring Billy enough for him to fall out of the hoop, and got to work on the empty page of her sketchbook. She had her inspiration. Billy had given her the new swing… on the ground!

"What?" He asked shocked.

"My inspiration!" She grinned. She stopped for a second. "What are you actually doing here Billy?" She asked innocently.

"I just came here to play with the props." He said happily, almost like a child. "Do you think Sora will like it?" He asked almost shyly.

"Like what?" Mia was confused.

"My little show." He smiled mostly to himself. "You know," he continued, "When her eyes are fixed."

Mia could help but smile at this; it looked like Billy was trying to impress Sora, How Cute! "Of course she will!"

Mia then realized that Billy had the potential to be a performer, why wasn't he? When she asked him this he just said, "I just want to help make the magic happen."

She saw something white peaking out of one of his sleeves.

"What's that on your arm?"

"Nothing." He said, not seeming to even notice there was anything there at all, she just decided to ignore it and got back to her design, she didn't even notice Billy walk out.

* * *

Sora was nervous. That was the only way to put it. She was even more nervous than her first show, or her first time competing in the Circus Festival. She had just gotten home and was now sitting alone, just thinking, she was scheduled for surgery tomorrow. She had never thought they would have her in that early, to be completely frank, she was scared to go under the knife, but she didn't let Leon know this.

Leon had said he needed to go see Kalos, she didn't ask why, she also needed some time for herself, and so she let him go. She wondered where Fool was but was semi-glad for his absence, she needed time to think, but most of all, she needed some sleep. She hadn't slept well in the few days since the incident that night. She carefully checked all her doors and windows, locking them and driving the deadbolt home on her front door.

She went to her room and closed the curtains, feeling like she was being watched though she wouldn't be able to see who if she actually was. She pulled the blankets over her head and realized they smelled like him. She smiled to herself and let her mind wander; this actually helped her feel relaxed. Even just thinking of him made her feel safe. Why did she feel like this? What was this called? Her chest ached but she didn't know why, was it because he wasn't there? She was so confused, she was over thinking this, she needed sleep.

* * *

Leon walked through the halls of the Kaleido Stage with no real purpose or destination. He had a lot on his mind, where would he stay, how is Sora fairing alone? Why did this happen to him? Is she alright? Would Ken be willing to hold him up again? Was Sora also feeling this confused? What was Kalos doing about the stalker situation? Does she also feel an ache in her chest? What was happening? When did he start feeling like this? Did Sora feel like this too? What is this feeling called?

He used Kalos as an excuse to be alone for a little while; he had a feeling Sora needed some time too. He walked out of the building and toward the parking lot; he decided to stay in a hotel that night. There was a slight breeze pulling through the air, gently caressing his silky long silver hair.

He didn't hear his pursuer until he was down on the ground with a heavy weight on his back. Leon wasn't a pushover though, he fought back, his strength was to his advantage and he pushed himself and his attacker off the ground with immense upper body strength and took a swing, but the attacker was quick and nimble too.

There was a struggle. Punches were thrown, hair was pulled (mostly Leon's) and pain was dealt and received. Leon, knowing the attacker was getting the best of him due to his being caught off guard decided to run, sprinting back to the building, his head snapped backwards as his long locks were pulled.

The attacker fought dirty and he knew it. Leon tried to pull away but then the pressure was gone with a very small sound. _Snip._


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

It was the next morning and May was just arriving at the stage. She was an early riser and thought it would be good to get at least a little practice in before the afternoon show. She knew that Ken would be a little late after going to his parents' house the previous night and thought a little solo practice wouldn't be a bad idea.

She walked out of her dressing room and made her way to the practice room, hoping that the safety net was left up, sometimes they take it down after practice. What she didn't expect to see was Mia sitting in the corner, sketchbook in her lap.

"What're you doing here so early?" May asked loudly, laughing to herself as she watched Mia jump about three feet in the air.

"May!" Mia exclaimed, beaming smile on her face, she looked kind of out of it. "I was working on the new swing design!" She smiled again. "What about you?"

"Practice." May answered simply.

"Oh, well I won't bother you then." Mia stood up, ready to leave.

"You can stay, it doesn't bother me any." May said simply.

"No its fine," Mia said cheerily, "I still have to show the design to Kalos, I think he's here now. See ya!" She said as she walked out.

"Bye." May called, turning her attention to the swings and tightropes, then decided to warm up on the balance beam.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw somebody walk down the hall, passing in front of the door, he was tall and wore all black, she thought it was Leon but there was something different, she couldn't quite tell what because he walked by too quickly for her to notice, _its probably nothing,_ she thought, and began to stretch.

* * *

Mia knocked on the door to Kalos's office and, hearing him respond, entered. The table in the middle of the room held the model of the swing, covered by a sheet for the moment. Sitting on the couch were Billy, just sitting there twirling his thumbs, trying not to look bored, Layla, wanting to see the design, Marion's father (Mia had asked him to build the model the night before), and Anna who was probably just there for moral support.

Mia suddenly felt her chest tighten, she was nervous. She was surprised May wasn't there for the presentation, that she was practicing instead of wanting to be the first to know about the new design. Other than May or Ken there was only one person missing.

She didn't want to keep everybody waiting all day so she decided to start. Gulping down her fear, she spoke up.

"Good morning everybody thanks for coming." She began, hoping they would like the idea she was about to present. They all looked at her expectantly, Anna gave her thumbs up from behind Kalos who was now sitting on one of the couches.

"Okay, so I was asked to design a new swing design for the next show we do, but since we don't know what that show is yet, it was a little difficult." She took a breath. "But with a good deal of thought and a little inspiration," Billy winked at her, "I came up with this." She pulled the sheet off the table, and saw Layla grin a little.

"You wanted something different and this is what I came up with." She lightly offset the balance on the model and it began to move. The swing itself was circular and held two hoops. As the swing moved the inner hoop swung in one direction and the outer hoop in the other. The inner hoop turned sideways as it spun; there was no limit to the movement of the inner hoop. The performer would be inside a free-spinning circuit.

Just as Kalos was about to comment there was a knock on the door.

Kalos cleared his throat. "Come in."

All eyes turned to the figure entering the room.

"I apologize, I did not mean to be late." The figure said with a heavy French accent.

Leon just remained silent as the others stared at him in shock, Kalos included. He ignored them and said, "Don't mind me, please continue."

"Leon what happened t-" Layla began, but Leon interrupted her.

"Continue." Both he and Kalos said, and, even though there was some distraction and staring, the presentation continued.

* * *

After the presentation was over, it was unanimously decided to use the swing in their upcoming production. Kalos ushered everyone out of his office before questions could be asked.

"This has gone too far, Leon." Kalos said sternly.

"I know." He returned. "What can I do?"

"I think you need to take a break, get away from the stage until things settle down and we can find out whose doing all of this." Kalos said, still just staring at Leon, but not asking the question that's been on his mind since Leon walked in.

"I can't just leave, what about Sora?" Leon asked, he didn't want to leave his partner alone; he had a feeling that something was going on with her, something she wasn't telling him.

"You mean you know about the stalker?" Kalos asked.

"Yes, of course I know, I mean look at me! I've been attacked, my apartment ransacked!" Leon was angry.

"But so has Sora." Said Kalos, and this stopped Leon dead in his tracks, it was his turn to stare.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, a cold feeling crept into his veins.

"Sora is also being stalked, she was attacked in her own apartment." Sora had told May, who told Ken, who told Sarah, who, of course, told Kalos. But apparently nobody told Leon. Kalos could see him visible pale.

"Why did no one tell me?" He asked softly.

"Sora didn't want to worry you." Kalos replied, he knew that Sora thought very highly of Leon and didn't think he should have to worry about her, but he also could see the way Leon looked at Sora, my, my, this was getting complicated.

"And you thought that was a good reason to not tell me?" Leon raised his voice, which was a little out of character for him.

"Leon, she asked us not to." Kalos tried to reason with him, wrong answer.

"THAT DOESN'T MATTER!" Leon yelled, Kalos wasn't about to have any of it.

"DO NOT YELL AT ME IN MY OWN OFFICE!" He yelled right back, now standing behind his desk, his chest heaving. Leon was breathing heavily too. Sitting back down and taking a deep breath, Kalos said softly, "I think you guys need to get away, you don't need to go far, but just don't stay in your apartments and try not to come around here too often. It seams like you and Sora have been the only targets."

Leon took a deep breath to compose himself. "She is going to the hospital today," the Frenchman began, "she is to get surgery on her eyes, I will take her to a hotel after and explain the situation."

"You sure you don't want me to tell her." Kalos asked.

"No, I will." Leon said, he looked at the clock on Kalos's desk. "It's almost time for Sora's appointment. I will call you when we arrive at the hotel." Leon turned to leave.

"Okay, and Leon," Kalos began as Leon reached for the door. Leon turned to look at Kalos. "Be careful." Leon turned and walked out.

* * *

Leon walked down the hall, his mind wandering, yet again. He saw something move to his right and spun to face it, hands up and ready for an attack. He had only walked in front of a mirror. This whole situation was making him paranoid; this wasn't like him at all.

He stared at his reflection in disgust. There wasn't much that was visible wrong with him, so to speak. He had a small cut through his right eyebrow from where he was hit and a bruise across his cheek, there was only minimal swelling but it was painful to move the eyebrow. He saw the fear and paranoia in his eyes reflected back at him. He hated that some person whom he didn't even see was able to place him in such a state. He brushed his hair out of his face, his, now shoulder-length hair. It was barely even long enough to tie now. The attacker had grabbed him by the hair and just hacked it off with a pair of old kitchen sheers!

Leon thought this was just to make a statement, saying that he could get this close and still get away with it, and the thought scared him.

He heard footsteps down the hall and looked up, face still in a glare. Billy stopped just a few feet away from Leon.

"Hey, how's it going?" Billy asked.

Leon just stared at him, poker face in place.

"So, I heard you're looking for a place to stay?" Billy offered, hoping to break the uncomfortable silence.

"What's it to you?" Leon said coldly.

"I was just, well you see," Billy started, unsure of how to put it into words. "I think I know about an open apartment near here, in case you were interested…"

Leon was a little surprised, it seamed as though Billy was trying to help him, but Leon was still suspicious, as he was about almost everybody now.

"I will keep that in mind." Leon said flatly and turned to walk away.

"That's a good look." Billy said, indicating Leon's, now short, hair. "Though I never thought you'd cut it, what'd you do? Lose a bet?" Billy joked

Before Billy knew what hit him, he was held up against the wall, the collar of his shirt in Leon's fist, and his face just inches away. Rage shone in Leon's eyes, he just snapped.

Billy had never seen Leon lose his cool like this; he looked as though he was possessed by a demon. The rage and fury reflected in Leon's eyes was unlike anything Billy had seen before, and it was directed at him, and all he had done was joke around.

Leon pulled his arm back, ready to deal a blow.

"STOP!" Somebody yelled from down the hall. Multiple sets of footsteps came running in their direction just as Leon as about to let his arm snap forward.

Billy felt his feet touch the ground and the air rush out of his lungs as Leon's fist was extracted from his shirt. He took a breath and noticed Leon held against a wall by the arms of Kalos, Ken, who had just arrived, and Marion's father. Leon struggled to break free, his face livid.

"CALM DOWN LEON!" Kalos never thought he'd have to say those three words in the same sentence like that. He brought his hand back and let it strike the 20-year old's face. The only thing that registered on Leon's face now was shock.

The action shocked every one in the hall; everything was silent apart from the sounds of heavy breathing. The men let go of Leon, who had calmed down a little, either that or the shock still hadn't worn off.

"Walk it off," Kalos said to Leon. Turning towards Billy, "You," he pointed, "my office." Mia stifled a laugh, Kalos sounded like a principle.

Ken walked down the hall behind Leon, almost to make sure he wouldn't try to go back, fighting in the stage is frowned upon, as Leon probably already knew due a previous altercation with Yuri, whom he was now on almost friendly terms with.

"What happened?" Ken asked.

Leon only stared forward. Ken assumed Kalos was practically interrogating Billy.

When Ken was sure Leon wouldn't turn back, he said a quick "See ya," and went to meet May in the practice room.

* * *

Leon had calmed down a little on the way to Sora's apartment, he probably shouldn't be driving while angry but he had gotten over that discretion many years ago. He would need to pack a few bags for her either before or after they go to the hospital. He wondered if she was ready to go under the knife, from what he'd heard the surgery would be pretty serious and dangerous for infection, though she wouldn't need to stay in the hospital, Sora had asked if she could be discharged the same day, but as she had said herself, she couldn't live like this.

He pulled up in front of her apartment. The walk up the steps was almost second nature to him now; he never thought that would happen. He knocked on the door.

"Come in." He heard Sora call from inside. The doorknob turned easily under his hand, she still didn't lock her doors. The apartment was so familiar to him now, he almost felt like he was the one who lived there.

"Sora?" He called.

"In here." She called back from her room, she didn't think twice about inviting Leon into her room.

Leon saw Sora sitting on the floor in the middle of the room, stretching in odd positions.

"What are you doing?" He asked, a small grin plastered on his face, he wasn't thinking about the incident with Billy at the moment.

"Yoga." She answered; her clouded eyes were turned in his general direction. "It's relaxing."

"You're anxious?" He asked.

"A little," she answered, "but I just can't wait to get this over with."

"I know how you feel." He said in a sigh.

Sora stopped for a moment, puzzled over Leon's sigh, but unaware that he was only worried about her.

Leon could see that she managed to wear matching clothes that day, when he pointed this out, Sora said with a red face, "I just assumed that the Jeans would go with anything so that's what I picked! Is that a problem?"

"No, no," he laughed, "I'm just glad to see that you are adapting." This comment fell a little short as it brought up the thoughts that she may have to adapt in the even that the surgery was a failure.

Leon cleared his throat, "Are you ready?" He asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she sighed as she rose up off the floor, she had never been this nervous in her life, not even when she had challenged Layla before joining the stage.

"Let us go, then." He led her to the door.

* * *

They endured the ride in a comfortable silence, but Sora just emanated nervousness and this worried Leon.

"It'll all be okay." He said, reaching over and taking her hand in his, rubbing her smooth knuckles with his thumb.

Sora's cheeks took on a pink tint and a small smile made itself home on her face. "Thank you Leon." She whispered. "For everything."

He gave her hand a comforting squeeze as they arrived at the hospital.

* * *

May was worried. That was the only way to describe it. Ken had told her about the whole thing that went down between Leon and Billy. She'd know Leon since she first joined the stage and he never lost his cool, at least not like that. She was there when Leon and Yuri got into it on the stage, but he'd never just snapped like that. She was also worried about Sora. She hadn't seen or heard from Sora in a few days. Or maybe it just seemed like it was a long time, she lost track. She's been so busy with the shows and practice that she had almost completely forgotten about Sora's surgery.

"Ne, Ken?" May said to her partner turned lover.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Do you think Sora will be okay?" She asked and she stayed suspended by the trapeze.

"Knowing Sora, she'll turn around and kick this whole think right in the ass," May laughed at this.

"I guess you're right." She swung again.

* * *

Sora's breathing became shallow as the anticipation ate away at her from the inside out. Her heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest, and her hands were shaking so bad she couldn't even hold a cup of water, AND THEY WERE ONLY IN THE WAITING ROOM!

Leon tried to calm her down a little. Sora, unable to sit still, began to pace about the room, Leon stayed at her side to ensure that she didn't run into anything or any patients. She stumbled and Leon caught her.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"Why don't we sit?" Leon offered.

"Okay," she said with uncertainty. They sat down again and she began twirling her thumbs, she just couldn't sit still!

"Sora?" Dr. Kate called and Sora jumped about a foot off the seat. Damn it's a good thing they weren't in a police station, she looked like she'd just committed the crime of the century and was about to get caught!

"Yes!" She squeaked. Leon took her hand, as though he was her anchor to the ground.

"It's time." Dr. Kate said.

Sora gulped audibly, "Okay." She rose and Dr. Kate led her away, Sora turned in the direction she thought Leon was in.

"I will be here when you awaken." He said assuringly. Sora was led away, about to be prepared to go under.

* * *

"I don't get it." Kalos said as Sarah walked into his office.

"What don't you get, dear?" The English-woman asked her fiancée sweetly.

"Billy says that Leon just attacked him out of nowhere. I didn't think Leon would do something like that, and Billy also says that he feels like someone was watching him. Billy seems to think that Leon has something to do with the attacks."

"Now why would he think something like that?" Sarah asked incredulously.

"I guess Leon's been acting hostile towards Billy for a while now, they just never really got along, but Leon's also been attacked. I saw a bandage on Billy's arm, it looks like he was attacked too, but I'm not sure what's going on. It seems the attacks are becoming more widespread and more workers reported that they felt like they were being stalked." he looked at Sarah. "If this doesn't stop, I may have to shut down the stage."

* * *

Layla sat at home in her nursery, waiting for her husband to return from his business trip. She sat reading her favorite book, _Pride and Prejudice_. She loved how the love developed between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, how he did so much just to prove that he wasn't the heartless man she thought him to be.

As she got to the end of the last page she looked up to the mural on her wall. She loved how her friend's faces looked so happy, she wished to see those faces again, there had been so much going on that she needed to stay away for a while, she didn't want the stress to affect her unborn child. She brought her hand to her slightly expanded belly and sighed.

"I can't wait to meet you." She said lovingly. It's amazing how she could love something so small that she hadn't even met yet. She heard the front door open, her husband was home.

* * *

Sora awoke disoriented. She saw all black, which was no different, but her head felt heavy. She attempted to sit but found that this caused her head to throb and her to gasp.

She felt a big hand grasp hers, a familiar hand she'd come to recognize.

"Leon?" She mumbled groggily.

"You are awake?" He asked quietly.

"Mmm." She mumbled.

"I will go tell the doctor." He said as he stood up.

Sora laid her head back on the pillow. "Hmm." And fell back asleep.

* * *

The next time she woke up was 6 hours later and she was still disoriented, but not as much as before and she found that, if she moved very slowly, she could sit up, with the assistance of Leon of course.

When she was a little more awake, Leon proceeded to explain that the doctor said she could leave when she felt okay, but that he couldn't exactly take her home just yet. Not really listening, Sora just nodded in the appropriate places and proceeded to complain that her head hurt.

A few hours later, the nurses helped her get dressed and Dr. Kate walked in.

"Sora, are you sure you're ready to leave?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah," Sora mumbled. "I'd rather not have to stay at the hospital if I can help it, it just doesn't feel right."

"You get used to it." Dr. Kate laughed. "Well, Leon has my number so don't hesitate to call if you have any questions."

"Okay." Sora agreed.

* * *

Leon drove to Sora's apartment, she would need some clothes for the next few days. Sora slept in the seat next to his, he didn't want to wake her, and so he just went up by himself.

The door was still unlocked so Leon had no trouble getting in.

"Hello, Scorpio," Came a familiar voice from behind him. Leon spun quickly, as if he thought he would be attacked.

Fool hovered in a corner of the room, just staring. He brought out his cards and read, "As Scorpio approaches Sagittarius, a third does the same."

"What does that mean?" Leon questioned the spirit.

"It means you need to watch yourself, Mr. Oswald, and watch out for Sora also. The third, though unknown for the moment is dangerous, he was here again three nights ago."

"Who?" Leon asked worriedly.

"The Stalker. He seamed to be looking for something, but I drove him out, I couldn't see his face though."

"I can't let Sora stay here." Leon said, going to Sora's closet, pulling out a duffel bag and just began putting in clothes at random; he felt exposed and wanted to leave ASAP.

"I will stay and protect this place." Fool said. "You watch Sora."

"I will." Leon said as he walked out of the apartment, duffel bag full and hanging from his shoulder.

* * *

The next time Sora woke up she was in an unfamiliar bed, the room smelled different than her own. She stretched out over the bed and found that it was, in fact, much wider than her own. She slowly sat up and tried to take in what she could from her surroundings.

The room was silent, there was air-conditioning, it smelled of newly laundered sheets, and the bed was not her own. She couldn't figure out where she was.

The door clicked, as it was unlocked. She heard some muffled footsteps, it sounded like the room was carpeted.

"You are awake?" She heard a voice she'd come to remember.

"Leon, where are we?" She asked.

"We are in a hotel," he answered. "I could not let you go back to your apartment. You are too exposed there."

"Wait, what do you mean 'exposed'?" She questioned.

"Sora, don't play coy with me, I know you were attacked a few nights ago in your own room, you can't stay there." He said sternly.

"H-how did you-" she stuttered, putting her hands together and fiddling with her fingers, a sign that she was nervous, and he was right.

"Kalos told me." He answered sharply, "Why did you not tell me?"

"I didn't want to worry you." She began.

"Worry me?" Leon started, he raised his voice. "Worry me! Sora you could have been killed, you can't exactly fight back either!"

"Yes I can." She whispered.

"Do not argue with me Sora!" Leon snapped back. "You could get hurt! You are completely helpless Sora, you cannot even see. You cannot protect yourself!"

"Yes I can!" She yelled back.

The next thing she knew, she was pinned down, Leon's weight crushing her to the bed. "Stop!" She cried as she swung her fists at him, he easily took her arms and pinned them to her sides, she was totally helpless, tears leaked from the sides of her bandages.

Leon was only trying to prove a point, he did not mean to scare her like this. He let her go and sat at the edge of the bed in silence.

"I am sorry." He said quietly. "I just do not want to see you get hurt." Sora could hear the sadness in his voice; he'd lost much, and didn't want to lose anymore.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Sora said as she shifted to sit next to him. She leaned her head against his back and realized something was different.

She moved her hands up his back to his shoulders and felt the ends of his hair.

"What happened to your hair?" She asked quickly.

"Nothing." He answered.

"Leon, tell me." She said, moving to face him. She brought a hand up to his cheek, and traced the features of his face, as if trying to memorize them. Her fingers shifted up to Leon's eyebrow, she heard his sharp intake of breathe.

"You too?" She asked, her voice muffled, sounding like she was about to cry.

Leon's silence was the only confirmation she needed.

"Leon," she continued, "Please don't leave me alone here." She pleaded.

"I will not." He answered; he wanted to be alone no more than she did. He stood and walked to the other end of the room.

"Where are you going?" Sora asked, panicked.

"To the couch, it's late and there were no double rooms available, you will sleep in the bed." He said.

"But Leon, you're taller than me, you should get the bed, sleeping on the couch will only make you sore." She insisted.

"You are a lady, you take the bed." He ordered, there was no room for argument.

"Leon, if you don't sleep on a bed then I won't either." She said stubbornly.

Seeing that Sora wasn't going to let this go, Leon walked back towards the bed.

Sora shifted over to give him room as he stretched out next to her.

The air-conditioning made Sora shiver. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her, Leon was warm, this comforted Sora. She felt safe, safe enough to finally grasp the much-needed sleep, which had evaded her lately.

* * *

Sora and Leon stayed in the hotel accommodations without incident for about a week and a half. Kalos had called to make sure everything was okay and Dr. Kate came daily to check up on Sora, who was allowed to take off the bandages, but only if she wore protective glasses. Leon and Sora spent the days listening to music, or going for walks in the sunny afternoons, or Sora listened as Leon read aloud from books from the nearby library. They sometimes went out during the day, or spent a day in, they found ways to keep themselves occupied.

* * *

Well into the second week, Leon received some mail; Kalos had forwarded to the hotel so they wouldn't need to be too near the stage, and out of the sights of the stalker.

6 letters were delivered; three addressed to Sora, two addressed to Leon, and one addressed to a "William Jameson."

Leon asked Sora if she knew any one by that name and she replied that she didn't. The letter looked important.

Leon read the address aloud and thought. "I will be back, I am going to bring this to the front desk."

"Why don't you just deliver it, I'd hate it if my letters were lost in the mail and if it happened once, it could happen again." She stated simply.

The letter was supposed to be delivered to an apartment not too far from the stage. Sora insisted that Leon deliver the letter himself.

Finally giving in, Leon agreed to deliver the letter but only because Sora had insisted.

"I'll be back shortly, don't leave the room." He said almost as if he was her parent.

"Okay." Sora sighed, but also suppressed a giggle at the same time. "Have a safe trip!" She called as Leon left the room.

* * *

Leon typed the address from the letter into the GPS in his car. Following the directions, he arrived at a small, older looking apartment building. It looked as though it was built almost 100 years ago, but was still in good shape.

The letter said "apartment 13 B." Walking in, he realized that there was no elevator. 13 flights of stairs was a long walk but was no match to Leon's superior strength and stamina, he jogged up the steps without so much as breaking a sweat.

He walked down the hall of the 13th floor, searching for apartment 13 B. He walked down the hall multiple times but never saw a B. The fourth time down, Leon stopped at a door with no number or letter, it seamed to have fallen but there was a slightly faded spot, which resembled a B.

Leon knocked on the door and received no answer. He tried the doorknob and realized the door wasn't locked. "What is it with people and leaving doors open?" He muttered.

"Hello?" He called as he took a step into the room, assuming this was the apartment of William Jameson. He walked in a little more and placed the envelope on the kitchen counter.

As Leon turned to leave the apartment, his mission completed, something caught his eye.

One wall of the room was covered in pictures; they seamed to be pictures of performers. He saw photos of the circus festival, held in France, and very familiar faces. One that struck him the most was a particularly large picture of the cast of the Kaleido Stage. In the photo, were Layla, Yuri, May, Ken, Mia, Anna, and many others who worked, but right in the center was a certain purple haired girl.

There were posters from performances and near them were pictures from Kalos's engagement party. There were newspaper clippings containing articles on the Kaleido Stage. He noticed himself in a few pictures but there was something particular about the photographs.

Sora was in each and every one of them. One particularly large photo adorned the wall; it was a photo of himself and Sora, taken during "Swan Lake." What shocked Leon though, was the fact that his face had been crossed out, like he was unwanted. As he looked closely, his face was crossed out of every picture on the wall. He looked down to a table in front of a television set. On it were multiple tapes. They were all of performances; Swan Lake, The Little Mermaid, Romeo and Juliet, Dracula. Sora was in each one of these as well, not always as the lead but still there. Right next to the tapes, there was pink toothbrush and a bundle of purple string. He looked closer and realized that it was far to fine to be string… It was hair!

A breeze blew in from an open window, knocking over a notepad that sat on the coffee table. When Leon picked it up, more photos fell out. These sent shivers down his spine. He saw himself entering a door, which he had become very familiar with; Sora's apartment. There was another of him leaving. There were also notes. Monday, 1:30; walk in the park. 3:45; Doctor enters room. 10:57, lights go out. There were also addresses, very familiar addresses. His, May's, Ken's, Layla's, even Sora's. there were more pictures towards the end, pictures of himself, now short-haired, and Sora walking side by side in the park, having lunch at a café, and entering a building with revolving doors. Highlighted at the bottom was a particular name and number, which seemed very familiar. He read on and realized why the number and name seemed so familiar. It was the hotel where he and Sora were staying!

Realization hit Leon like a ton of bricks. He knew where he was now; he was in the home of a particularly dangerous person, a person who knew where he and Sora were, who watched their every move. And if this person knew where they were and what they did, the person would know that Leon had left Sora alone!

Ice ran through Leon's veins. He ran.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Sora sat stretching on the floor, classical music playing in the background. She managed to move the furniture out of the way with her eyes covered. Earlier that week Dr. Kate had said that, even though Sora still couldn't see for the moment, her eyes seemed to be healing well but she should still wear bandages for part of the day, just so there is no strain on her healing eyes. She wore small skin colored eye-patches.

She stood on the toes of one foot and pulled her leg up into a scorpion pose, the burn in her legs felt good. She could still maintain good balance even without the use of her currently useless eyes.

She got back on two feet and bent forward, touching her hands to the floor she did a walkover and stayed in a bridge for a few minutes; she liked the burn. She flipped back to her feet and bent backwards into another bridge. After stretching for about 10 more minutes she decided to get a little sleep. As she lay down, she wondered what was taking Leon so long.

* * *

Yuri just stared at his wife from across the dining room table. Layla looked back at him and said, "What?"

"You look different." He said apprehensively.

"What do you mean?" She looked down at herself. "Are you calling me fat?" She nearly yelled, slamming her hands down on the table and standing up.

"No! No!" Yuri stood also, palms up in surrender and, if Layla decided that the water pitcher didn't belong on the table anymore, self-defense.

"Oh." She said calming down, she wasn't used to the raging hormones coursing through her at the moment and neither was Yuri. She sat back down and resumed eating; her appetite had grown since the morning sickness subsided a bit.

"I mean you look good," he said lovingly. "You're glowing."

Layla could see the love in his eyes. She stood up and walked over to him, the dim lights cast a nice atmosphere in the room. She sat across her husband's lap and planted a kiss on his lips. She took his hand a placed it on her stomach; she could feel the baby kick at times, even though it seemed a little early.

Yuri jumped; he felt it too. His face broke into a smile. He looked at Layla, eyes shining. She could tell that he was just as excited as she was to meet this unborn child.

"This is our child, Yuri." Layla said lovingly. "The life that we made together, you and I."

Yuri had tears in his eyes.

Together they sat and marveled over the life they created; the life they would soon meet.

* * *

May stood in the kitchen of her apartment, spoon in one hand, frying pan in the other. Ken sat at the table watching her.

"I wish you would let me help." He whined.

"No." She said sternly. "I said I would cook you supper and I am, so shut up and sit down." She swung her spoon as she spoke.

Ken quieted down; he loved May's cooking. He wanted to eat her cooking everyday, and if things go well, maybe he will; he blushed at the thought. He was in no hurry, but May made him happy.

"What are you staring at?" She asked loudly. "You're starting to freak me out." Ken loved her straight forwardness.

"You." He stated, as if it was the most obvious answer.

"Well I know that," she retorted. "But why?" She asked softly.

"Because I love you." He said for the first time.

This caused May to turn just about 5 different shades of red.

"Why would you say something like that, Baka." She said quickly turning to hide her red-faced embarrassment. "..You to…" she mumbled.

"What was that?" Ken said playfully, grabbing May around the waist from behind.

"Nothing!" She yelled, trying to twist away. He held on tighter and stuck to her playfully. "Get off!"

"No." He smiled. "Not until you tell me what you said."

"Nothing!" She yelled again, this time laughing because Ken got her at her weakest spot; her ticklish sides. "Let go! The food's gonna burn!" But Ken didn't let go, so she did the only thing she could think of.

May turned around and wrapped her arms around Ken's neck, planting a kiss right on his mouth. He smiled against her mouth and wrapped his arms tighter around her as he kissed her back.

The one thing that broke their kiss was the sound of the fire alarm, which they were now aware of.

"Damn it Ken!" May shrieked as she turned to the food in the frying pan, now charred and black.

"So, want me to call?" Ken said, phone already in hand. May just rolled her eyes.

* * *

Leon ran. Block after block, it was taking him forever! Now, you may ask why he was running. The answer to that was his car. It wouldn't start. Of all times, it wouldn't start now, so instead of wasting time trying to start his car, or find someone to jump the battery, he ran. What he didn't realize though, was that it took him almost 20 minutes to drive to the building in the first place, so the run would almost double that time at best, and panicking wasn't helping much either.

Was Sora alright? He thought to himself, well thought was an understatement. His mind was yelling at him. He needed to hurry. He couldn't believe how stupid he'd been, leaving Sora alone like that, falling right into that trap. He wanted to slap himself.

He rounded another block. His heart was pounding at double the speed of his feet.

* * *

Sora awoke to a very subtle and strange, yet very familiar smell. She slowly sat up, so as not to get a head rush. She inhaled deeply through her nose, trying to figure out what the smell was. She stood up and padded around the room, and was hit with the strangest sense of déjà vu. She shivered, the air was cold; the air-conditioner was left on. She thought she heard a breath from the far corner of the room. She turned quickly, which only made her dizzy and disoriented, just like when you're turned before hitting a piñata.

There was only silence; the paranoia must have been getting to her.

"Hello Sora." Said a very familiar voice from behind her, the last thing she remembered was a pressure against her face and the smell of Chloroform.

* * *

"SORA!" Leon screamed as he pounded on the hotel room door. "TALK TO ME! OPEN THE DOOR!" He'd left his key

All the noise was attracting the attention of some, not too happy, hotel inhabitants. From his disheveled appearance and the fact that he was locked out of his own room, they may have guessed that he was either drunk of had a fight with his girlfriend; they didn't even know the half of it.

"Sir!" The hotel clerk placed a hand on Leon's shoulder. Leon spun quickly, knocking away the hand. The clerk was very serious. "Sir, you need to keep the noise down! You're disturbing the other guests!" The young manager said.

Leon grabbed him by the shoulders, "You need to unlock this door! Its an emergency!" Leon's panic must have rubbed off on the clerk, because without any further questions, he pulled out his skeleton key and slid it into the electronic lock. Leon burst through the door, only to be attacked by darkness and a familiar smell.

"Sora?" He said, fear dripping into his voice.

There was no reply. He flicked on the lights and the sight nearly gave him a heart attack.

There, sitting on a coffee table in the middle of the room along with a note, was a single… purple… rose.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The Kaleido Stage was pitch dark, void of all life, so it seemed. Nobody was supposed to be there, but Leon was anyways.

Come to the stage on which you act the part, for there we will battle, for the beloved one's heart. Come alone.

The dark hallways were silent, eerily so, the emptiness threatened to suck in anyone who dared venture too close. But Leon wasn't scared of a little darkness, the only fear he had was for Sora's sake. The only thing going through his mind was the thought of Sora's safety. What scared him the most was the fact that he didn't know what was happening to her; if she was hurt, or worse. Just thinking of something bad happening to her made him feel sick to his stomach.

He started to run.

* * *

The stage was silent. The sheer blackness made Leon think of a never-ending pit; the only light came from the dim backup lights in outside the door.

He stepped into the blackness, letting the door slam shut behind him; the sound echoed throughout the cavernous room. He managed to climb down the steps without falling. He now had some idea of how Sora must feel. He didn't like it; he felt vulnerable.

There were no sounds other than that of his own footsteps, his own labored breathing.

The lights flashed to life; lasers and colors disorienting Leon and then pitching him back into darkness.

One spotlight flashed on in the center of the room. Hanging upside-down from the center trapeze was a certain purple haired girl with patches over her eyes and a usually brightly shining face now slack in unconsciousness.

"SORA!" Leon yelled. She didn't stir, she didn't answer.

Leon jumped the rest of the stairs and made a beeline for the trampolines, he needed to get her down. As he jumped another spotlight flashed on, pointing to the far left trapeze. A figure clad in all black and dawning a clear, feature distorting mask jumped and swung towards Leon. As he swung, the bright lights of the stage all flashed on, just the brightness was enough to stun Leon for barely a moment, but that moment gave the figure the edge he needed.

* * *

Leon felt the impact more than he felt any pain. He was struck from his side and sent spiraling towards the floor. His superior training and flexibility left him able to make up for the cement floor rushing up to meet him for the second time in his life, but this time, he was ready.

He spun so his feet were pointed to the ground, his legs absorbed the impact and he was able to roll into a crouch. He launched himself towards the trampolines again, this time flying right to one of the trapeze, the bar felt secure in his hand as he swung.

His head felt lighter without the resistance of the rushing air passing through his hair. He put his feet forward and picked up speed. The figure was on the swing to his right, swinging in the same direction.

Leon propelled himself to the next swing just as the other did, but Leon was faster. He landed standing on the swing, balancing on his feet; he grabbed the stalker by the arm, threatening to drop him.

The man in the mask swung his legs upwards and launched himself at Leon, knocking him off balance, causing them both to hurl towards the ground yet again. Luckily the swings were still the same as those used during the Angel's Act, but with the addition of some of Mia's new swings; there was another beneath them. Leon managed to catch the bar with his ankle, not the least painful way to catch a trapeze.

Unfortunately the intruder seemed to have also been trained as a performer, his skills rivaling even Leon's. This supported Leon's theory that the stalker was a worker of the stage.

The set was offset and this caused the two men to lose their balance, once again. But they were able to stay on the swing.

Leon launched himself again, but this time with one slight miscalculation he was hurled right at Sora's unconscious form.

"Damn." He whispered to himself, yelling would do no good; Sora was still unconscious and the intruder would know of Leon's distress; he needed to think quickly. He couldn't grab Sora; he'd dislocate her elbow like he'd done to May.

He made the split second decision to go _through_ the trapeze. He straightened out his body and flew in between the wires holding the swing in place, not disturbing his precious partner.

He misjudged the distance between the two swings and nearly missed the next, catching it with one outstretched arm; he could feel the strain in his shoulder and gasped.

He looked up in time to see the masked man catapulted at him again.

Leon grabbed the bar with both arms and swung himself forward towards the intruder. The impact sent the both flying to the ground.

The impact was greater than the pain, but Leon's rage made his body numb.

He got up and ran towards the masked man, who, in turn, ran at him also. The next thing either men knew was that they were on the floor, tangled up in a mass of flailing limbs and wild punches.

The blow knocked the mask off of the stalkers face; the face behind the mask was a very shocking one to see.

"Billy?"

"Hello Mr. Oswald." The young blonde-haired, blue-eyed man said in an almost superior tone from underneath the other.

* * *

"Ugh." Sora moaned; her head was killing her. She was disoriented and had no idea where she was. Her throat was painfully dry and she could still smell the chloroform.

Her head felt heavy; all the blood had rushed to her head and she could feel the pressure. She tried to lift her self and realized that her ankles were strapped to a bar, but she didn't know by what, or how far from the ground she was. She could feel the heat of very intensely bright lights.

She could hear the sounds of a struggle under her.

She heard extremely familiar voices.

"Why the hell are you doing this?" She heard the most familiar voice yell, but still discombobulated, she was unaware of whom it was. There was a grunt and the sound of a rough impact. She slowly pulled herself up so she could reach her ankles.

* * *

Leon pulled his arm back, ready to deal a blow when Billy turned the tables. Just a slight shift of his weight and Billy had pushed himself closer to Leon, who, being caught off guard left an opening. Billy had flipped Leon and had the upper hand in the fight now. His hands were around Leon's neck, pressure cutting off Leon's airway.

"You want to know why?" He laughed maniacally. Leon's face started to shift colors. "Do you remember the Circus Festival, Leon?" Billy said in a laughing manner. "She was so beautiful, like an angel, her tears were like crystals. Haha. I wanted her more than I've ever wanted anything in the world! I had to have her!"

Leon struggled under the pressure on his throat, his face almost turning the color of Sora's hair.

"But you!" He began, his face contorting with anger, his voice changed; accent becoming distinctly different. Billy almost sounded British, in a godlike tone he added, "You were in the way!" He added more pressure. Leon began to see spots, his arms becoming limp at his sides; his lungs were about to burst. "And after I finish with you, I'll make her mine," his eyes shone, glazed over, he's lost his mind!

William Jamison bent down right near Leon's ear and whispered, "Did you know she holds her breath right before a kiss?"

Leon snapped. He grabbed the lapels of Billy's shirt and pulled forward, simultaneously thrusting his legs into Billy's abdomen. Billy was launched over Leon's head and into the ground, landing with a grunt.

Leon jumped up, head reeling from lack of oxygen, and vaulted himself at Billy; his furious rage left him with tunnel vision; he was going to end this once and for all.

* * *

Sora could still hear the sounds of a struggle under her as she worked at the bonds around her ankles. She was bound with the same kind of tape she used for grips in practice. She hung by her feet and was bent so she could reach up to her ankles. She fiddled with the tape until she managed to get one foot loose, but this caused her to panic. She didn't know how high up she was, so she wrapped her free ankle around the wire holding the swing to support herself as she worked on the other ankle. The tape was strong but tears easily if you know how. The heat from the stage lights caused her to sweat, making her hands slippery, she couldn't get a good grip on the tape. Then, she pulled on just the right part and she her foot slide. She grabbed the bar with both hands and, with her legs now free, pulled herself up, now sitting on the swing. Her head was spinning; she sat up almost too quickly, making her lose balance.

She fell.

* * *

Leon heard a yelp and turned just in time to see the young starlet fall off of the trapeze.

"SORA!" He screamed, momentarily forgetting the battle and running to save his most precious partner. He used the trampoline under Sora to launch himself up to meet her in the air, catching her princess style, and falling back to the ground.

"Sora! Are you alright?" Leon said in a panicked tone Sora had never heard before. "Please! Talk to me!" He pleaded.

"Leon?" She said softly. Her eyes were burning from the sweat accumulated by the bandages. She reached up and pulled on the patches, the adhesive refusing to let go. In one swift tug, she had the off.

She heard a gruff voice say, "If I can't have her, no one can." And opened her eyes in time to see a glint from behind Leon.'

"KNIFE!" She screamed as Leon pulled her close to his body and turned. She heard a sharp intake of breath and he started to go limp in her arms.

He fell forward, the handle of the blade protruding from his back; blood staining the area around it.

"Leon?" She said softly, fear dominant in her voice.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Leon?" Sora called, fear dominant in her voice. "Leon! Answer me!" She said in a more panicked tone, blood pooled on the floor. His eyes just stared off into space, the life fading away by the second

"Is that all you got?" Billy said in a godlike manner, laughing psychotically.

Sora took Leon's head in her lap, his blood now getting on her, but she didn't care. "LEON!" She cried out in agony, tears falling from her eyes, landing on Leon's cheeks, which were now beginning to get cold.

"I guess 'Mr. Grimm Reaper's' time has come!" Billy danced around Sora with Leon's limp body held cradled to her chest.

"Why?" She screamed at him.

"Because I love you Sora." He said simply and as-a-matter-of-factly.

_This was all _my_ fault?_ Ice ran through Sora's veins, her body felt as though it were at absolute zero. She'd killed Leon.

But he was still breathing, albeit very shallowly, there was still a chance. Quickly removing her shirt, she used it to apply pressure to the wound, careful not to push the knife in further, but not pulling it out either.

Billy/William Jamison knelt close to Sora's ear. "You won't be able to save him." He whispered cockily. Sora did something she knew Billy wasn't expecting.

She pulled her arm back and thrust it forward with as much force as her performer's body could muster, feeling the satisfying crunch of cartilage under her knuckles.

Billy howled in pain, blood streaming from his nose and lip where he'd bitten it.

"You little Bitch!" He shrieked, grabbing Sora by her hair.

"Aagh!" She cried as he dragged her away from Leon's nearly lifeless body.

"You're going to regret that!" He declared, malice shining in his eyes.

He threw her to the ground and straddled her waist, pinning her arms above her head. He was much stronger than she was, she couldn't fight back. She saw teeth marks on his arm from where she'd bitten him. She knew it was him who'd attacked her.

"No!" She cried as his hand slid down along her side.

There was nothing she could do. Billy was much stronger than her; he could pin both of her arms down with one and do with her what he pleased.

_So this is it… _she thought. She felt totally helpless, even more so than when she'd first lost her vision. There she was, about to be forced out of her innocence, and right in front of Leon, who was now slowly bleeding to death indirectly by her hand. And all of this upon the stage which she held so dear, the stage upon which she rose to becoming a true star, as stage upon which she and many others cast aside their differences and brought magic to many and all, the stage that she now called home.

With this, the stage would be forever disgraced. Tears flowed from her eyes as she just stared at Leon, willing herself to just disappear, to just drift away into oblivion. "I love you." She whispered in agony to the lifeless body that was Leon Oswald and closed her eyes, willing it all to be over.

* * *

As though the merciful God in heaven had heard her request, the weigh of the man now known as William Jamison was gone, torn away by the hand of god.

Well not really, just the very large hands of Mr. Policeman. How he got there, Sora had no clue, but this didn't make her any less gratified.

"Sora!" She heard a female voice called. It was the voice of Miss Sarah who ran straight to her side. But Sora didn't even notice. She was too busy crawling to Leon's side. Holding him to her chest, willing him to wake up.

"Leon!" She begged and pleaded. "Wake up, please!" The tears just kept streaming down her face. "You can't just leave me!" Sarah was not very shocked to hear the next words that escaped from Sora's lips. "I love you."

Sora felt arms wrap around her and attempt to pry her from Leon.

"NO!" She yelled, but the men still dragged her, kicking and screaming, she didn't even notice the paramedics.

"Sora!" Sarah called. "It's alright!" She said pulling Sora tightly to her body, trying to stop her shivering and calm her, but she knew that just a hug from a friend would not calm someone who's love's life was in jeopardy.

"Leon!" Sora wept into Sarah's chest as he was carried away by medics.

* * *

Now it was her turn to wait in the silent, brightly lit waiting room. The sign above the door to the operating room read **SURGERY IN PROGRESS**. She felt empty, completely void of all emotions except for worry. She barely even noticed Layla come running in, asking about Leon's condition, or May screaming up a storm about why nobody would tell them anything.

Sora just sat still, Layla holding her hand, almost as her anchor to reality. The warmth felt good.

Exhaustion swept over Sora like a tidal wave, but she forced herself to stay awake, for Leon's sake. Layla noticed this.

"Sora," she said softly, so as not to startle her. "You need some sleep."

"I can't." She uttered her first words since Leon was taken into the OR.

"Sora, you mentally and physically exhausting yourself isn't going to help anyone and it certainly isn't going to help Leon." She said sternly, in a very mother-like fashion. If  
Sora wasn't so mentally distraught, she may have proceeded to point this out and giggle, but now was not the time.

"Miss Layla?" Sora asked softly.

"Yes?"

"Lie to me." She said simply.

"Excuse me?" Layla didn't understand.

Sora just stared off into the distance. "Tell me everything is going to be okay." Her voice broke at the end of the sentence. A tear escaped her eye.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Sora." Layla whispered wrapping her arm around the younger girl's shoulders and pulling her close. "Everything _will _be okay."

* * *

Kalos talked to the police. He explained how some of the cast members were being stalked and how some were even attacked. He presented the police with the security tape showing a man adjusting the fireworks and catching his sleeve on the holder. He also gave the police the cloth, which Leon had found earlier, the dried spot was now discovered to be blood, evidence useful for when they took William Jamison to court. The blood would be used as DNA evidence in order to convict him and possibly get him life in prison.

"Excuse me gentleman," he said politely. "I have business to attend to elsewhere." Mr. Policeman understood that Kalos was also extremely worried about Leon's welfare and gave him a ride to the hospital.

* * *

The surgery lasted over 6 hours. Leon looked as though he'd been hit by a truck, but the damage was worse internally. The blade had punctured Leon's right lung from the back and severed several arteries. Multiple blood transfusions were needed and he was now resting in a private room.

Sora refused to leave the hospital. She wouldn't eat, wouldn't sleep, wouldn't leave unless Leon was there with her. No matter how many time her friends tried to convince her to go home and get some rest, that they would let her know if anything changed, she refused. The stubborn Japanese girl would not leave the Frenchman's side.

This went on for about three days. Sora spent those days sitting by Leon's bedside. Holding his hand, willing him to wake up. He didn't stir; he only remained in silent stillness. Sora absent-mindedly stroked his beautiful, silver hair. She never did understand how he kept it so lovely without even trying. I guess that was just one of the things she loved about him, he could do great things without even really trying. More tears escaped her eyes as she whispered, "Why won't you wake up?"

She never knew that May was just outside the door. May had never seen Sora in such agony, not even when she couldn't perform, this was just pure torture. May wanted to weep for Sora's sake, just to take some of her friend's pain so she wouldn't have to shoulder the burden all on her own.

* * *

On day five, Sora slept by Leon's bed, his hand in hers. She refused to let go. His hand twitched. She didn't even notice him slip his hand out of hers and begin to stroke her striking purple hair. She thought it was just a dream.

She slowly woke, feeling the slight pressure of fingers softly caressing her cheek. She slowly opened her, still sensitive, eyes.

A pair of striking silver eyes specked with violet stared back. Leon's eyes were the most beautiful Sora had ever seen.

His eyes were surrounded by dark circles, kind of making him look like a raccoon. His face was pale; his hair was in a disarray, but only succeeding in making it look as though a halo surrounded his head on the pillow. His face didn't hold the life and vigor of before, but to Sora, he was the most beautiful thing she ever saw.

"_Bonjour._" He said softly.

"Leon?" She whispered.

"Oui." He whispered back.

She wrapped her arms around him and pushed herself against him, almost to make sure this was real and not just a sick joke her mind was playing on her.

Leon sharply sucked in a breath. "Ouch." He said softly.

"I'm so sorry!" Sora cried.

"It is alright, I am just a little sore." He said assuringly.

"Leon," the tears still streamed, she turned her face away "I'm sorry for everything, this was all my fault!"

"How?" He asked, confused.

"He was after me, and because you were near me, you got hurt." She said in a muffled voice.

"Sora." He said placing a hand on her cheek, turning her to face him, eye's locking with hers. "I would rather have died that night, than seen you hurt."

She stared at him in awe.

"_Je t'aime, Ma Cherie._" He whispered, his face just centimeters from hers.

"What does that mean?" She asked softly as the distance closed between them.

"I love you, too."


	16. Chapter 16

Epilogue

"Come Stella." My daddy said from a few feet in front of me. I was excited. Today is my 4th birthday! Mommy said I could go see the Magical stage she used to play on. I just stared in awe at the beautiful building in front of me. It was all made of glass, and it was ginormous!

I saw a sign in a big ball. On it was a very pretty Lady with purple hair and a very pretty dress. That Lady was my Auntie Sora. Next to her on the poster was a man with very long silver hair, daddy said it's a man but I still think its just another very pretty lady, my mommy always said that girls have long hair. My Auntie May and Uncle Ken were in a place called China right now, so I couldn't see them tonight. I don't know where China is, but Mommy says that that's where Auntie May's from so they went to see her Mommy and Daddy.

"Daddy, What does this say?" I said pointing to the sign.

"It says 'Doll'." Mommy said from next to daddy. She was holding his hand and had her other hand on her tummy. Mommy's tummy was big right now. She said that I am going to be a big sister soon. I told her I wanted a little sister, but mommy said that I might get a surprise. I don't know what that means but I hope it's a pony!

"Let's go inside." Daddy said, picking me up, while he still held Mommy's hand.

"Hello Layla." Miss Sarah said. Miss Sarah was a singer. She had the prettiest voice I ever heard; sometime I wish she could sign me to sleep instead of daddy. He sounded funny and sometimes he squeaked, which makes me laugh a lot, so I can't sleep.

"Hello Sarah." Mommy said back. "How's Kalos?" Mr. Kalos was Miss Sarah's husband. A lot of my friends thinks Mr. Kalos is scary, but I think he's really nice, he always gives me toys and let's me play on the trampolines. Mommy said something about the Stork visiting Miss Sarah, but she doesn't have a big belly yet.

"Kalos is fine." Miss Sarah said. "He's been sitting in the nursery a lot lately, playing with some of the toys." She giggled. I don't know why that's so funny though, I mean Daddy plays with me and my toys all the time. I think she talks funny, but Mommy says that's because she's from somewhere's called England. I don't know where that is but it must be a funny place if everybody talks like Miss Sarah there.

"Layla, the show's about to start." Daddy said to Mommy. We went into the big room with all the seats. I love coming into this big magic room. I especially like to see my Auntie Sora fly.

"Daddy?" I asked. "What's this story about?" I said around a mouthful of cotton candy.

"Well." Daddy started, "it's about a man who fell in love with a doll who came to life at night, but during the day she became a doll again."

"But how do they get married?" I asked in awe.

"I guess you'll just have to watch and find out." Mommy said smiling.

I saw my Auntie Sora fly in the air in a beautiful dress, and sometimes Auntie Sora didn't even move! But she was really pretty anyway. And a man with long hair kept catching her and flying with her. I still want to know why he doesn't cut his hair though.

At the end of the story, the man broke the magic spell that made the girl a doll and they lived happily ever after.

I waited to leave but something was different tonight. It was really quiet in the room but everybody was still there. The man with the really long hair was kneeling down in front of Auntie Sora. He had a little box in his hand and was holding Auntie Sora's hand with the other. Everybody was going ooh and aahh but I was confused. Auntie Sora was crying.

"Mommy!" I said, pulling on her sleeve. "Why is that man being mean to Auntie Sora?" Mommy was smiling. "Why did he make her cry?" But Mommy wouldn't answer me. Mommy was crying too.

"Don't cry Mommy!" I said hugging her. "I'll save you from that mean man who made you and Auntie Sora cry!" I yelled. Everybody else started yelling and clapping and whistling.

I looked back at the mean man and saw that Auntie Sora was hugging him now, she was still crying though, but she was nodding her head. I was so confused.

"Mommy why is Auntie Sora crying?" I asked again.

Mommy looked at me this time. "Because Auntie Sora is very happy right now."

"She's crying because she's happy?" I was really confused again.

Mommy looked at Daddy "She said yes." Mommy said and Daddy was smiling too.

"Yes about what?" I asked.

"Stella," Mommy said. "I think you're going to have a new Uncle."

I was still confused but if Mommy was happy and Auntie Sora was happy, then I guess I could be happy about it too, whatever it was.

* * *

**Author's** **Note:** i just want to say Thank you for Following my story and being patient with me, i didn't mean to take so long to upload on some of the chapters and i'd even said to myself "My readers shall not wait!" because i know what its like to have to wait, so thank you for your patience, your reviews, and just the fact that you read my story!

**Love,**

**Psycho Dreamer**


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